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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 

REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM  TO 

THE  LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


>    V 


Mr.  Temple  Scott's  book  blends  old 
and  new,  and  arranges  the  rich  material 
under  the  winning  headings,  The 
Christmas  of  the' Home,  of  the  Soul,  of 
the  Wanderer,  of  Religion,  with  gener- 
ous 'Sheaves  of  Christmas  carols  and 
hymns  at  the  close.  Most  of  the  poems 
are  of  course  by  unknown  authors. 
Among  those  that  can  be  named.  Lady 
Lindsay  has  by  far  the  leading  place,  with 
eleven  numbers ;  Herrick  follows  with 
six,  Bishop  Brooks,  Selwyn  Image, 
Rossetti  and  Vaughn  have  each  four; 
Katherine  Tynan,  Whittier  and  Wither, 
three  each.  Seventy-two  other  poets  are 
represented  by  one  or  two  poems.  We 
would  not  leave  this  book  without  a  word 
of  appreciation  for  the  far  from  per- 
functory ^'Introduction  on  Christmas," 
as  the  witness  to  the  spirit  of  joy  at  the 
foundation  of  Christianity,  a  considerable 
part  of  which  is  printed  in  another 
column. 


I 


THE  CHRISTMAS  TREASURY 


I 


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p^ 

m 


SS 


The 

Christmas 

Treasury 

of 

SongandVerse 

Compiled  by 

Temple  Scott 


New  York 

The  Baker  &  Taylor  Co. 

1910 


tyJ 


\yjt 


"^PA 


g]S 


ss 


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i 


Copyright,    1910,  by 
THE   BAKER  &  TAYLOR   COMPANY 


Published,  October,   1910 


PRESS     OF     WILLIAM     G.     HEWITT 

61-67     NAVY    STREET 

BROOKLYN,    N.   Y. 


TO 

DORIS 

FROM   HER   HOPING   FATHER 


The  flighty  purpose  never   is   overtook 
U^iless   the   deed  go  with  it:  from  this  moment 
The  very  firstlings  of  7?iy  heart  shall  be 
The  fi,r  St  lings  of  my  hand  J'' 


The  Editor  gratefully  acknowledges 
his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Bliss  Car- 
7na7i  for  per7}iission  to  tise  the  extract 
f?om  his  poe7H,  **  Christmas  Eve  at 
St.  Kavin's.'" 


I 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction — Essay  on  Christmas  .  .  xi 
The  Christmas  of  the  Home  ....  19 
The  Christmas  of  the  Soul  .  .  .  .111 
The  Christmas  of  the  Wanderer  .  .  .149 
The  Christmas  of  ReHgion      .      .      .      .183 

Christmas   Carols 225 

Christmas  Hymns .   291 


I 


I 


INTRODUCTION 

If  there  be  one  day  in  the  calendar  more 
than  any  other  which  bears  witness  to  the 
spirit  of  joy  at  the  foundation  of  Christianity, 
it  is  surely  that  of  Christmas.  In  its  double 
meaning  of  festival  and  holy  day,  it  links  the 
fine  instinct  of  the  old  unconscious  w^orld 
with  the  high  wisdom  of  the  seeing  modern 
life.  The  feast  of  the  holly  and  mistletoe  may 
commemorate  the  ever-fruitful  strength  of  the 
earth's  life,  despite  winter's  snows  and  frosts : 
but  the  holy  day  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  day  of  an  event  of  far  profounder  import 
for  us  than  the  promise  of  mere  material  com- 
fort. What  to  Druid  priests  was  a  sign  of 
good,  is  become  for  us  a  symbol  of  grace ; 
w^hat  to  them  was  an  evidence  for  hope,  is  for 
us  made  a  message  of  assurance.  They  were 
gladdened  in  the  drear  days  by  the  promise 

[xi] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

of  the  Spring  and  the  harvests  to  come ;  we  joy 
in  the  silent  nights  in  the  abounding  grace  of 
a  knowledge  of  the  presence  among  us  of 
the  living  God.  For  in  the  coming  of  the 
man  Christ  we  realized,  for  the  first  time,  the 
Spirit  that  is  in  all  things — in  hearts  as  well 
as  in  harvests. 

If  ever  a  religion  dare  appoint  a  Day  of 
At-one-ment,  Christianity  would  surely  be 
justified  in  setting  Christmas  Day  as  such  a 
day ;  for  is  it  not  the  day  on  which  the  human 
and  divine  were  made  one;  the  day  on  which 
this  unity  was  made  manifest?  And  is  not 
that  a  matter  for  joy?  Is  it  not  also  a  moving 
thought  for  self -purification? 

Joy  comes  naturally  when  the  heart  is  clean. 
How  more  cleanly  can  we  purify  the  heart 
than  by  leaving  it  free  for  the  play  of  the 
gracious  impulses  that  make  for  beneficence 
and  love?  And  beneficence  and  love  are,  as 
they  should  be,  of  the  very  air  of  Christmas. 
"Peace  on  earth;  good-will  to  men,''  was  the 
message.  In  peace  the  earth  grows  kindly  and 
beneficent;  with  good-will  men  grow  kinly 
and  loving.  In  peace  the  earth  laughs  in  its 
harvests;  in  good-will  men  joy  in  their  gifts. 

[xii] 


^  INTRODUCTION  ^ 

As  the  one  blossoms  and  flower  in  peace,  so 
does  the  other  flower  and  blossom  in  love. 
Each  gives  its  fruit-oflfering  through  joy.  And 
it  is  in  joy  alone  that  we  ourselves  most  fully 
realize  our  at-one-ment  with  the  creative  im- 
pulse of  this  universe  of  ours. 

If  we  are  children  of  God  in  any  real  sense 
then  must  we  be  children  of  joy.  But,  in  this 
turmoil  of  work  and  strife,  it  is  not  easy  for  us 
to  be  either  children  or  joyous.  Worshippers 
of  Mammon  are  slaves  to  a  jealous  god,  and 
they  know  not  how  to  lift  up  their  hearts  in 
gladness.  They  have  sold  their  birthright  of 
freedom  for  a  mess  of  pottage.  When  they 
try  to  be  children  they  look  like  satyrs  leering 
as  lovers.  Thank  God,  then,  for  happy  chil- 
dren to  remind  us  of  what  we  once  were,  and 
what  we  still  may  be,  if  we  but  learn  the  lesson 
of  their  emancipating  joy. 

Rightly  has  Christmas  been  made  the  chil- 
dren's festival.  Every  child  is  a  saviour,  who 
is  come  to  save  us  from  degrading  ambitions, 
and  to  take  us  by  the  hand  and  to  lead  us  to 
pleasanter  fields  and  sweeter  pastures  than 
those  w^hich  we,  by  our  cunning  and  craft, 
have  made  for  ourselves.     They  know  better 

[xiii] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

than  we  what  is  good  for  the  soul ;  they  are 
nearer  than  we  are  to  the  Hfe  of  things. 

As  once  again  this  season  of  good-will  and 
good-cheer  comes  round,  let  us  leave,  for  a 
time  at  least,  the  turning  of  the  wheels  of 
chance.  Let  us  permit  the  finer  qualities  in 
our  humanity  to  have  their  play.  It  is  not  too 
late  to  be  young  and  of  ''the  happy  people." 
It  is  the  time  for  rejoicing  and  thanksgiving. 
But,  indeed,  we  shall  not  be  able  to  help  our- 
selves. A  spiritual  fact  is  more  stable  and 
more  magnetic  than  the  everlasting  hills.  It 
will  have  its  way.  And  there  are  few  more 
compelling  forces  than  the  thoughts  which  have 
been  enshrined  in  a  great  event.  The  holy  day 
is  a  holiday  indeed ;  for  love  itself  is  at  play. 
As  the  midnight  chimes  peal  forth  the  advent 
of  Christmas  a  very  host  of  invisible  forces  rise 
up  and  bear  us  on.  The  ghosts  of  thousands 
of  Christmases  past  pass  before  us  with  ap- 
pealing benedictions.  Our  minds  become 
chambers  haunted  with  beneficent  presences. 

We  may  forget  our  birthdays  and  even  the 
anniversaries  of  our  marriage,  but  Christmas 
comes  and  insists  on  being  celebrated.  Indeed, 
we  have  no  option  in  the  matter.    Times  may 

[xiv] 


^  INTRODUCTION  ^ 

be  bad,  wars  may  wage,  tempests  may  rage, 
politics  may  plague,  sickness  may  devastate ; 
but  the  herald  of  the  coming  Feast  of  the  Chil- 
dren is  certain  to  sound  his  trumpet  call,  and 
as  with  the  magic  pipe  of  the  Pied  Piper  of 
Hamelin,  thousands  of  little  pattering  feet  will 
spring  alert  and  alive  to  its  meaning.  It  fills 
the  air  with  music.  Its  note  may  not  be  melo- 
dious, but  the  laughter  of  the  children  softens 
its  discords  so  that  it  comes  to  us  reminiscent 
of  our  childhood's  day's,  when  the  world  was 
young,  and  everything  went  very  well,  and 
Santa  Claus  w^as  near,  and  dear,  and  real. 

It  should  be  a  blessed  time  for  us  even 
though  we  are  growing  old.  It  is  our 
yearly  rejuvenation,  our  annual  reminder  of 
''the  good  old  times,"  the  anniversary  of  days 
when  all  was  golden  and  rosy  and  transfigured 
in  an  ideal  reality  that  no  experience  can  im- 
prove and  no  learning  make  more  glorious. 
Leave  us  our  Christmases  and  w^e  can  w^ell 
aflford  to  let  go  almost  all  the  other  ties  that 
bind  memory's  strands  to  the  supporting  posts 
of  life.  In  ministering  to  the  delight  of  chil- 
dren w^e  keep  our  own  hearts  young ;  we  drink 
again  of  the  springs  of  life  so  that  a  new  thrill 

[  XV  ] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

of  the  divine  influence  passes  from  them  to  us. 
Our  wrinkles  are  smoothed  out  by  the  placidity 
of  our  feelings;  our  furrows  are  unknit  and 
become  the  lines  of  laughter;  our  mumblings 
are  coherent  in  the  stress  of  sympathy;  our 
cacklings  take  on  a  resonance  that  smacks  of 
joyous  forgetfulness.  We  are  reborn  in  the 
celebration  of  the  new  birth.  *'The  sun  doth 
shake  light  from  his  locks,  and  all  the  way 
breathing  perfumes  doth  spice  the  day." 

This  happy  custom  of  serving  the  little  ones 
inspires  us  to  carry  the  service  further.  We 
give  to  each  other  also,  and  we  delight  in  an 
unconscious  make-believe.  We  also  are 
once  more  children  at  play.  We  welcome  this 
opportunity  to  steep  our  sophisticated  minds 
in  a  sea  of  generous  emotion  which  floats  buoy- 
antly our  Ship  of  Brotherhood  and  Good  Will. 
We  are  not  so  bad  as  we  thought  we  were, 
each  to  the  other,  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 
We  have  no  ''axes  to  grind"  this  day,  no  stocks 
to  sell,  no  business  to  promote.  The  games  of 
the  market-place  are  set  aside  for  other  games. 
At  ''Blindman's  Buff"  we  may  hurt  our  shins — 
our  hearts  are  not  broken ;  and  if  our  pockets 
are  opened,  it  is  by    the    graceful    and  deli- 

[  xvi  ] 


^  INTRODUCTION  ^ 

cate  hand  of  Our  Lady  of  Charity.  Old  dames 
nod  to  each  other  pleasantly,  and  talk  of  the 
dances  and  merry-makings  of  the  days  long 
gone,  and  of  the  Johns  and  Charlies  who  kissed 
them  under  the  mistletoe  at  the  Christmas  of 
long  ago  when  the  snow  fell  three  feet  in  the 
night.  And  the  Johns  and  Charlies,  now  bald- 
headed  and  ruddy-faced,  dig  each  other  in  the 
ribs  and  remind  one  another  of  the  pretty  girls 
they  also  kissed  under  the  mistletoe  on  that 
Christmas  of  long  ago,  when  the  snow  fell 
three  feet  in  the  night.  Ah !  but  those  were 
the  days  when  boys  were  boys  and  girls  girls ! 
And  papas  smile  at  mammas,  and  brothers 
flirt  with  the  other  fellows'  sisters,  and  cousins 
joke  each  other,  and  uncles  and  aunts  find 
new  nephews  and  nieces,  and  even  mother-in- 
law  thinks  her  Lucy's  husband  a  worthy  man ; 
and  all  sing  "Auld  Lang  Syne''  together  to 
make  a  new  ''Syne"  for  a  future  looking  back 
and  the  hallowing  of  a  new  experience  in  the 
shrine  of  a  perfumed  memory.  Thus  do  these 
Christmas  merry-makers  become  memory- 
makers  ;  builders  of  real  palaces  of  joy — man- 
sions for  the  soul  to  live  in  happiness. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  fine  wisdom  that  gave  us 

[  xvii  ] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

this  one  day,  at  least,  in  the  year,  in  which  to 
be  truly  free ;  in  which  we  might  dare  to  throw 
aside  the  mask  and  show  the  kindly  heart  in 
the  smiling  face.  '*\Vhat  you  thought  of  me 
yesterday  or  what  you  think  of  me  to-morrow 
is  not  the  true  me ;  the  true  me  is  here  and 
now  on  this  Christmas  morning.  Your  hand, 
brother!''  Let  us  be  glad  together  because  we 
no  longer  fear  each  other,  but  can  take  joy  in 
each  other.  And,  mayhap,  if  the  habit  grow 
with  us,  in  love  and  in  truth,  this  spirit  of 
Christmas  shall  spread  its  beneficence  over  all 
the  days  of  our  lives.  For  we  are  brethren 
together,  in  the  life  of  the  great  saint  who  was 
born  on  this  day. 

''O,  most  illustrious  of  the  days  of  time!" 
a  poet  once  apostrophized  Christmas  day.  Il- 
lustrious in  that  it  is  the  day  of  the  rebirth  of 
our  real  selves ;  of  the  quickening  in  us  of  that 
spirit  which  is  our  most  splendid  possession 
for  this  earthly  life  and  our  profoundest  as- 
surance of  divine  grace. 

Temple  Scott. 


[  xviii  1 


if 


I 


THE   CHRISTMAS   OF   THE  HOME 


I 

I 


CHRISTMAS 

C  hrist,  Christ,  is  born  to-day ! 
H  oly  be  thy  holiday. 
R  ise  betimes,  and  haste  away, 
I    n  thy  church  to  kneel  and  pray, 
S  urely  from  thine  heart  to  say : 
T  hou,  O  Lord,  will  I  obey. 

M  any  poor  around  there  be — 
A   1ms  give  thou,  and  sympathy, 
S    o  God's  blessing  'light  on  thee. 

Lady  Lindsay. 


But  my  song  I  troll  out,  for  Christmas  stout, 

The  hearty,  the  true,  and  the  bold ; 
A  bumper  I  drain,  and  with  might  and  main 
Give  three  cheers  for  this  Christmas  old. 
Charles  Dickens. 
CThe  Pickwick  Papers:') 


[19] 


|X^  LET  .  US  .  ALL  •  BE  •  MERRY  |^ 


A  Visit  From  St.  Nicholas 

^T^WAS  the  night  before  Christmas,  when 

1       all  through  the  house 
Not  a  creature  was  stirring,  not  even  a  mouse ; 
The  stockings  were  hung  by  the  chimney  with 

care, 
In   hopes   that    St.    Nicholas    soon   would   be 

there ; 
The  children  were  nestled  all  snug  in  their 

beds, 
While  visions  of  sugar-plums  danced  in  their 

heads ; 
And  mamma  in  her  kerchief,  and  I  in  my  cap, 
Had  just  settled  our  brains  for  a  long  winter's 

nap — 
When  out  on  the   lawn   there   arose   such   a 

clatter, 
I  sprang  from  my  bed  to  see  what  was  the 

matter. 

Away  to  the  window  I  flew  like  a  flash. 
Tore  open  the  shutters  and  threw  up  the  sash. 
The  moon  on  the  breast  of  the  new-fallen  snow 
Gave  a  lustre  of  midday  to  objects  below; 

[21] 


|Z^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

When,  what  to  my  wondering  eyes  should  ap- 
pear, 

But  a  miniature  sleigh  and  eight  tiny  reindeer, 

With  a  little  old  driver,  so  lively  and  quick, 

I  knew  in  a  moment  it  must  be  St.  Nick. 

More  rapid  than  eagles  his  coursers  they  came, 

And  he  whistled  and  shouted,  and  called  them 
by  name : 

"Now,  Dasher!  now.  Dancer!  now,  Prancer 
and  Vixen ! 

On,  Comet!  on,  Cupid!  on,  Donder  and  Blit- 
zen! 

To  the  top  of  the  porch,  to  the  top  of  the  wall ! 

Now  dash  away,  dash  away,  dash  away  all !'' 


As  dry  leaves  that  before  the  wild  hurricane 

fly. 

When  they  meet  with  an  obstacle,  mount  to 

the  sky, 
So  up  to  the  house-top  the  coursers  they  flew. 
With  the  sleigh  full  of  toys, — and  St.  Nich- 
olas, too. 
And  then  in  a  twinkling  I  heard  on  the  roof 
The  prancing  and  pawing  of  each  little  hoof. 

[22] 


I 


^  LOVE  .  IS  .  ALL  ^ 

As    I    drew    in    my    head,    and    was    turning 

around, 
Down  the  chimney  St.  Nicholas  came  with  a 

bound. 
He  was  dressed  all  in  fur  from  his  head  to  his 

foot, 
And  his  clothes  were  all  tarnished  with  ashes 

and  soot; 
A  bundle  of  toys  he  had  flung  on  his  back, 
And  he  looked  like  a  peddler  just  opening  his 

pack. 


His  eyes,  how  they  twinkled !  his  dimples,  how 

merry ! 
His  cheeks  were  like  roses,  his  nose  like  a 

cherry ; 
His  droll  little  mouth  was  drawn  up  like  a  bow, 
And  the  beard  on  his  chin  was  as  white  as  the 

snow. 
The  stump  of  a  pipe  held  tight  in  his  teeth. 
And  the  smoke  it  encircled  his  head  like  a 

wreath. 
He  had  a  broad  face,  and  a  little  round  belly 
That  shook,  when  he  laughed,  like  a  bowl  full 

of  jelly. 

[23] 


^  TIIF.  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

He  was  chubby  and  plump,  a  right  jolly  old 

elf, 
And  I  laughed  when  I  saw^  him,  in  spite  of 

myself. 
A  wink  of  his  eye  and  a  twist  of  his  head 
Soon  gave  me  to  know  I  had  nothing  to  dread. 


He  spoke  not  a  word,  but  went  straight  to  his 
work, 

And  filled  all  the  stockings ;  then  turned  with 
a  jerk, 

And  laying  his  finger  aside  of  his  nose, 

And  giving  a  nod,  up  the  chimney  he  rose.   ' 

He  sprang  to  his  sleigh,  to  his  team  gave  a 
whistle, 

And  away  they  all  flew,  like  the  down  of  a 
thistle ; 

But  I  heard  him  exclaim,  ere  he  drove  out  of 
sight, 

''Happy  Christmas  to  all,  and  to  all  a  good- 
night!" 

Clement  C.  Moore. 


[24] 


^    GOD  •  AP.ON'E  .  INCREASE  •  OUR  •  LOVE    ^ 


A   Christmas   Carol   for  Children 

GOOD  news  from  heaven  the  angels  bring, 
Glad  tidings  to  the  earth  they  sing : 
To  us  this  day  a  child  is  given, 
To  crown  us  with  the  joy  of  heaven. 

This  is  the  Christ,  our  God  and  Lord, 
Who  in  all  need  shall  aid  aftord ; 
He  will  Himself  our  Saviour  be. 
From  sin  and  sorrow  set  us  free. 

To  us  that  blessedness  He  brings. 
Which  from  the  Father's  bounty  springs : 
That  in  the  heavenly  realm  we  may 
With  Him  enjoy  eternal  day. 

All  hail,  Thou  noble  Guest,  this  morn, 
Whose  love  did  not  the  sinner  scorn ! 
In  my  distress  Thou  cam'st  to  me  : 
What  thanks  shall  I  return  to  Thee  ? 

Were  earth  a  thousand  times  as  fair, 
Beset  with  gold  and  jewels  rare, 

[25] 


►^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

She  yet  were  far  too  poor  to  be 
A  narrow  cradle,  Lord,  for  Thee. 

Ah,  dearest  Jesus,  Holy  Child! 

Make  Thee  a  bed,  soft,  undefiled, 

Within  my  heart,  that  it  may  be  * 

A  quiet  chamber  kept  for  Thee. 

Praise  God  upon  His  heavenly  throne, 
Who  gave  to  us  His  only  Son : 

For  this  His  hosts,  on  joyful  wing,  J 

A  blest  New  Year  of  mercy  sing.  ■ 

Martin  Luther. 


In  Bethlehem,  that  Noble  Place 

IN  Bethlehem,  that  noble  place, 
As  by  prophecy  said  it  was, 
Of  the  Virgin  Mary  full  of  grace, 
Salvator  mundi  natus  est. 
Be  we  merry  in  this  feast. 
In  quo  Salvator  natus  est. 

On  Christmas  night  an  angel  it  told 
To  the  shepherdes,  keeping  their  fold, 

[26] 


^      BE  .  WE  .  MERRY  •  IX  •  THIS  •  FEAST      ^ 

That  into  Bethlehem  with  beasts  wold 
Salvator  miindi  natiis  est. 

Be  we  merry  in  this  feast, 

In  quo  Salvator  natiis  est. 

The  shepherdes  were  compassed  right, 
About  them  was  a  full  great  light ; 
Dread  ye  nought,  said  the  angel  bright, 
Salvator  miindi  natus  est. 

Be  we  merry  in  this  feast. 

In  quo  Salvator  natus  est. 

Behold,  to  you  we  bring  great  joy ; 
For  why  Jesus  is  born  this  day ; 
To  us,  of  Mary,  that  mild  May, 
Salvator  mundi  natus  est. 

Be  we  merry  in  this  feast, 

In  quo  Salvator  natus  est. 

And  thus  in  faith  find  it  ye  shall, 
Lying  poorly  in  an  oxes  stall. 
The  shepherdes  then  God  lauded  all, 
Quia  Salvator  mundi  est. 

Be  we  merry  in  this  feast, 

In  quo  Salvator  natus  est. 

A.D.  1550. 

[27] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


The  Shepherds 

OTHAN    the    fairest    day,    thrice    fairer 
night ! 
Night  to  blest  days  in  which  a  sun  doth  rise. 
Of  which  that  golden  eye  which  clears  tlie 
skies 
Is  but  a  sparkling  ray,  a  shadow-light ! 
And  blessed  ye,  in  silly  pastor's  sight. 

Mild  creatures,  in  whose  warm  crib  now  lies 
That  heaven-sent  Youngling,  holy  maid-born 

Wight, 
Midst,  end,  beginning  of  our  prophecies ! 
Blest    cottage    that    hath    flowers    in    winter 
spread. 
Though  withered — blessed  grass  that  hath 

the  grace 
To  deck  and  be  a  carpet  to  that  place ! 
Thus  sang,  unto  the  sounds  of  oaten  reed, 
Before  the  Babe,  the  shepherds  bowed  on 

knees. 
And  springs  ran  nectar,  honey  dropped  from 
trees. 

William  Drum  mono, 

of  Hawthornden, 

\  2S 1 


^       TO  .  YOUR  •  health's  •  DESIRING       ^ 


Ceremonies  For  Christmas 

COME,  bring  with  a  noise, 
My  merrie,  merrie  boyes, 
The  Christmas  Log  to  the  firing ; 
While  my  good  Dame,  she 
Bids  ye  all  be  free, 
And  drink  to  your  heart's  desiring. 

With  the  last  yeere's  brand 

Light  the  new  block,  and 
For  good  successe  in  his  spending, 

On  your  Psaltries  play, 

That  sweet  luck  may 
Come  while  the  Log  is  a-teending. 

Drink  now  the  strong  Beere, 
Cut  the  white  Loafe  here. 

The  while  the  meat  is  a-shredding 
For  the  rare  Alince  Pie, 
And  the  Plums  stand  by 

To  fill  the  Paste  that's  a-kneading. 

Robert  Herrick. 
C'Hespcrides/') 

[29] 


)X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Christmas  Eve — Another  Ceremony 

COME,  guard  this  night  the  Christmas  Pie^ 
That  the  Thiefe,  though  ne'er  so  she, 
With  his  Flesh-hocks  don't  come  nie 
To  catch  it 

From  him,  who  all  alone  sits  there, 
Having  his  eyes  still  in  his  care, 
And  a  deale  of  nightly  feare, 
To  watch  it. 

Robert  Herrick. 
CHesperidesr) 


[30] 


^  WASSAIL  •  WASSAIL  ^^ 


Another  Ceremony  to  the  Maids 


w 


ASH  your  hands,  or  else  the  fire 
Will  not  teend  to  your  desire ; 
Unwasht  hands,  ye  maidens,  know, 
Dead  the  fire,  though  ye  blow. 

Robert  Herrick. 
CHesperides/') 


Another 

WASSAILE    the    Trees,  that    they    may 
beare 
You  many  a  Plum,  and  many  a  Peare ; 
For  more  or  lesse  fruits  they  will  bring 
As  you  doe  give  them  Wassailing. 

Robert  Herrick. 
C'Hesperidesr) 

[31] 


)X(  THE  ■  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A   Rocking  Hymn 

SWEET  baby,  sleep!  What  ails  my  dear? 
What  ails  my  darling  thus  to  cry? 
Be  still,  my  child,  and  lend  thine  ear 
To  hear  me  sing  thy  lullaby. 

My  pretty  lamb,  forbear  to  weep ; 
Be  still,  my  dear ;  sweet  baby,  sleep ! 

When  God  with  us  was  dwelling  here. 

In  little  babes  He  took  delight ; 
Such  innocents  as  thou,  my  dear, 
Are  ever  precious  in  His  sight. 
Sweet  baby,  then,  forbear  to  weep ; 
Be  still,  my  babe ;  sweet  baby,  sleep ! 

A  little  Infant  once  was  He, 

And  strength  in  weakness  then  was  laid 
Upon  His  virgin-mother's  knee, 

That  power  to  thee  might  be  conveyed. 
Sweet  baby,  then,  forbear  to  weep ; 
Be  still,  my  babe ;  sweet  baby,  sleep ! 

In  this  thy  frailty  and  thy  need 

He  friends  and  helpers  doth  prepare, 

[32] 


)I^  SWEET  .  BABY  .  SLEEP  ^ 

Which  thee  shall  cherish,  clothe,  and  feed, 
For  of  thy  weal  they  tender  are. 
Sweet  baby,  then,  forbear  to  weep ! 
Be  still,  my  babe ;  sweet  baby,  sleep. 

The  King  of  kings,  when  He  was  born, 

Had  not  so  much  for  outward  ease ; 
By  Him  such  dressings  were  not  worn. 
Nor  such  like  swaddling-clothes  as  these. 
Sweet  baby,  then,  forbear  to  weep ! 
Be  still,  my  babe ;  sweet  baby,  sleep. 

Within  a  manger  lodged  thy  Lord, 

Where  oxen  lay  and  asses  fed ; 
Warm  rooms  we  do  to  thee  afford, 
An  easy  cradle  or  a  bed. 

My  baby,  then,  forbear  to  weep ; 
Be  still,  my  babe ;  sweet  baby,  sleep ! 

Thou  hast,  yet  more,  to  perfect  this, 

A  promise  and  an  earnest  got 
Of  gaining  everlasting  bliss, 

Though  thou,  my  babe,  perceiv'st  it  not. 
Sweet  baby,  then,  forbear  to  weep ; 
Be  still,  my  babe ;  sweet  baby,  sleep. 

George  Wither. 
[33] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Old   Christmas 

LO  now  is  come  our  joyf uFst  feast  ; 
Let  every  man  be  jolly. 
Each  room  with  ivy  leaves  is  dress'd, 

And  every  post  with  holly. 
Though  some  churls  at  our  mirth  repine, 
Round  your  foreheads  garlands  twine, 
Drown  sorrow  in  a  cup  of  wine, 
And  let  us  all  be  merry. 

Now  all  our  neighbours'  chimneys  smoke, 
And  Christmas  blocks  are  burning; 

Their  ovens  they  with  baked  meats  choke. 
And  all  their  spits  are  turning. 

Without  the  door  let  sorrow  lie, 

And  if  for  cold  it  hap  to  die. 

We'll  bury  it  in  a  Christmas  pie, 
And  evermore  be  merry. 


Now  every  lad  is  wondrous  trim, 
And  no  man  minds  his  labour ; 

Our  lasses  have  provided  them 
A  bagpipe  and  a  tabor. 

[34] 


^  LET  .  US  .  ALL  •  BE  •  MERRY  ^ 

Young  men  and  maids,  and  girls  and  boys, 
Give  life  to  one  another's  joys, 
And  you  anon  shall  by  their  noise 

Perceive  that  they  are  merry. 

Rank  misers  now  do  sparing  shun, 

Their  hall  of  music  soundeth, 
And  dogs  thence  with  whole  shoulders  run, 

So  all  things  there  aboundeth. 
The  country  folks  themselves  advance, 
With  crowdy-muttons  come  out  of  France ; 
And  Jack  shall  pipe,  and  Jill  shall  dance, 
And  all  the  town  be  merry. 

Ned  Swash  has  fetch'd  his  bands  from  pawn, 

And  all  his  best  apparel ; 
Brisk  Nell  hath  bought  a  ruff  of  lawn, 

With  droppings  of  the  barrel ; 
And  those  that  hardly  all  the  year 
Had  bread  to  eat  or  rags  to  wear 
Will  have  both  clothes  and  dainty  fare, 
And  all  the  day  be  merry. 

Now  poor  men  to  the  justices 
With  capons  make  their  arrants, 

[35] 


)^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

And  if  they  hap  to  fail  of  these, 

They  plague  them  with  their  warrants. 
But  now  they  feed  them  with  good  cheer, 
And  what  they  want  they  take  in  beer, 
For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year, 
And  then  they  shall  be  merry. 


Good  farmers  in  the  country  nurse 
The  poor,  that  else  were  undone. 
Some  landlords  spend  their  money  worse. 

On  lust  and  pride  in  London. 
There  the  roysters  they  do  play, 
Drab  and  dice  their  lands  away. 
Which  may  be  ours  another  day. 

And  therefore  let's  be  merry. 


The  client  now  his  suit  forbears. 
The  prisoner's  heart  is  eased, 

The  debtor  drinks  away  his  cares. 
And  for  the  time  is  pleased. 

Though  others'  purses  be  more  fat, 

Why  should  we  pine  or  grieve  at  that  ? 

Hang  sorrow,  care  will  kill  a  cat, 

And  therefore  let's  be  merry. 

[36] 


^'  LAUGH  .  AND  •  BE  •  MERRY  )^ 

Hark,  now  the  wags  abroad  do  call 
Each  other  forth  to  rambling ; 
Anon  you'll  see  them  in  the  hall 

For  nuts  and  apples  scrambling. 
Hark,  how  the  roofs  with  laughter  sound ! 
Anon  they'll  think  the  house  goes  round, 
For  they  the  cellar's  depth  have  found, 
And  there  they  will  be  merry. 

The  wenches  w^ith  their  wassail  bowls 

About  the  streets  are  singing ; 
The  boys  are  come  to  catch  the  owls, 

The  wild  mare  in  is  bringing. 
Our  kitchen-boy  hath  broke  his  box. 
And  to  the  dealing  of  the  ox 
Our  honest  neighbours  come  by  flocks. 
And  here  they  w^ill  be  merry. 

Now  kings  and  queens  poor  sheepcotes  have, 

And  mate  with  everybody ; 
The  honest  now  may  play  the  knave. 

And  wise  men  play  at  noddy. 
Some  youths  will  now  a-mumming  go. 
Some  others  play  at  rowland-hoe, 
And  twenty  other  gameboys,  moe, 
Because  they  will  be  merry. 

[37] 


)^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Then,  wherefore,  in  these  merry  days 
Should  we,  I  pray,  be  duller? 

No ;  let  us  sing  some  roundelays 
To  make  our  mirth  the  fuller. 

And,  whilst  inspired  thus  we  sing. 

Let  all  the  streets  with  echoes  ring ; 

Woods  and  hills,  and  everything. 
Bear  witness  we  are  merry. 

George  Wither. 


The  Christmas  Carol 

THE  minstrels  played  their  Christmas  tune 
To-night  beneath  my  cottage  eaves ; 
While,  smitten  by  a  lofty  moon, 
The  encircling  laurels,  thick  with  leaves. 
Gave  back  a  rich  and  dazzling  sheen. 
That  overpowered  their  natural  green. 

Through  hill  and  valley  every  breeze 
Had  sunk  to  rest  with  folded  wings : 
Keen  was  the  air,  but  could  not  freeze, 
Nor  check,  the  music  of  the  strings; 

[38] 


)^  MERRY  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TO  •  ALL  ^ 

So  stout  and  hardy  were  the  band 

That  scraped  the  chords  with  strenuous  hand  ; 

And  who  but  Hstened  ? — till  was  paid 
Respect  to  every  inmate's  claim : 
The  greeting  given,  the  music  played, 
In  honor  of  each  household  name, 
Duly  pronounced  with  lusty  call, 
And  ''Merry  Christmas''  wished  to  all! 

O  Brother !    I  revere  the  choice 
That  took  thee  from  thy  native  hills : 
And  it  is  given  thee  to  rejoice, 
Though  public  care  full  often  tills 
(Heaven  only  witness  of  the  toil) 
A  barren  and  ungrateful  soil. 

Yet,  would  that  thou,  with  me  and  mine, 

Hadst  heard  the  never-failing  rite, 

And  seen  on  other  faces  shine 

A  true  revival  of  the  light 

Which  Nature  and  these  rustic  Powers, 

In  simple  childhood,  spread  through  ours. 

For  pleasure  hath  not  ceased  to  wait 
On  these  expected  annual  rounds, 

[39] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |2^ 

Whether  the  rich  man's  sumptuous  gate 
Call  forth  the  unelaborate  sounds, 
Or  they  are  offered  at  the  door 
That  guards  the  lowliest  of  the  poor. 

How  touching,  when  at  midnight  sweep 
Snow-muffled  winds,  and  all  is  dark, 
To  hear — and  sink  again  to  sleep ! 
Or,  at  an  earlier  call,  to  mark 
By  blazing  fire  the  still  suspense 
Of  self-complacent  innocence; 

The  mutual  nod — the  grave  disguise 

Of  hearts  with  gladness  brimming  o'er — 

And  some  unbidden  tears  that  rise 

For  names  once  heard,  and  heard  no  more; 

Tears  brightened  by  the  serenade 

For  infant  in  the  cradle  laid. 

Ah !  not  for  emerald  fields  alone, 

With  ambient  streams  more  pure  and  bright 

Than  fabled  Cytherea's  zone, 

Glittering  before  the  Thunderer's  sight, 

Is  to  my  heart  of  hearts  endeared 

The  ground  where  we  were  born  and  reared ! 

[40] 


^  FILL  .  THE  .  VALE  .  WITH  •  JOY  ^ 

Hail,  ancient  Manners !  sure  defence, 
Where  they  survive,  of  wholesome  laws ; 
Remnants  of  love  whose  modest  sense 
Thus  into  narrow  room  withdraws ; 
Hail,  Usages  of  pristine  mold, 
And  ye  that  guard  them,  Mountains  old ! 

Bear  with  me,  Brother !  quench  the  thought 

That  slights  this  passion,  or  condemns  ; 

If  thee  fond  Fancy  ever  brought 

From  the  proud  margin  of  the  Thames, 

And  Lambeth's  venerable  towers. 

To  humbler  streams  and  greener  bowers. 

Yes,  they  can  make,  who  fail  to  find, 

Short  leisure  even  in  busiest  days, 

Moments  to  cast  a  look  behind, 

And  profit  by  those  kindly  rays 

That  through  the  clouds  do  sometimes  steal. 

And  all  the  far-off  past  reveal. 

Hence,  while  the  imperial  City's  din 
Beats  frequent  on  thy  satiate  ear, 
A  pleased  attention  I  may  win 
To  agitations  less  severe, 

[41] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

That  neither  overwhelm  nor  cloy, 
But  fill  the  hollow  vale  with  joy ! 

William  Wordsworth. 

{To  Rev.  Dr.  Wordsworth,  zvith  the  Sonnets 
to  the  River  Duddon,  and  other  poems.) 


Cradle  Song 

HUSH !  my  dear,  lie  still  and  slumber, 
Holy  Angels  guard  thy  bed ! 
Heavenly  blessings  without  number 
Gently  falling  on  thy  head. 

Sleep,  my  babe;  thy  food  and  raiment, 
House  and  home,  thy  friends  provide; 

All  without  thy  care  or  payment. 
All  thy  wants  are  well  supplied. 

How  much  better  thou  'rt  attended 
Than  the  Son  of  God  could  be, 

When  from  heaven  He  descended, 
And  became  a  child  like  thee ! 


42 


)I^      LOVE  .  IS  .  THE  .  BOND  •  OF  •  PEACE      ^ 

Soft  and  easy  is  thy  cradle; 

Coarse  and  hard  thy  Saviour  lay; 
When  His  birthplace  was  a  stable, 

And  His  softest  bed  was  hay. 

See  the  kinder  shepherds  round  Him, 

Telling  wonders  from  the  sky ! 
Where   they   sought   Him,   there  they    found 
Him, 

With  His  Virgin-Mother  by. 

See  the  lovely  Babe  a-dressing; 

Lovely  Infant,  how  He  smiled! 
When  He  wept,  the  Mother's  blessing 

Soothed  and  hush'd  the  holy  Child. 

Lo,  He  slumbers  in  His  manger, 

Where  the  horned  oxen  fed : 
Peace,  my  darling,  here's  no  danger ; 

Here's  no  ox  a-near  thy  bed ! 

May'st  thou  live  to  know  and  fear  Him, 
Trust  and  love  Him  all  thy  days ; 

Then  go  dwell  for  ever  near  Him, 
See  His  face,  and  sing  His  praise ! 

[43] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  |^ 

I  could  give  thee  thousand  kisses, 

Hoping  what  I  most  desire ; 
Not  a  mother's  fondest  wishes 

Can  to  greater  joys  aspire. 

Isaac  Watts. 


Old    Christmas-Tide 

HEx\P  on  more  wood! — the  wind  is  chill; 
But  let  it  whistle  as  it  will, 
We'll  keep  our  Christmas  merry  still. 
Each  age  has  deemed  the  new-born  year 
The  fittest  time  for  festal  cheer. 
Even  heathen  yet,  the  savage  Dane 
At  lol  more  deep  the  mead  did  drain; 
High  on  the  beach  his  galley  drew, 
And  feasted  all  his  pirate  crew  ; 
Then  in  his  low  and  pine-built  hall, 
Where  shields  and  axes  decked  the  wall. 
They  gorged  upon  the  half-dressed  steer ; 
Caroused  in  seas  of  sable  beer ; 
While  round,  in  brutal  jest,  were  thrown 
The  half-gnawed  rib  and  marrow-bone, 

[44] 


i 


|Z(  LAUGH  .  AND  •  BE  •  MERRY  ^ 

Or  listened  all,  in  grim  delight, 

While  scalds  yelled  out  the  joy  of  fight, 

Then  forth  in  frenzy  would  they  hie. 

While  wildly  loose  their  red  locks  fly ; 

And,  dancing  round  the  blazing  pile, 

They  make  such  barbarous  mirth  the  while, 

As  best  might  to  the  mind  recall 

The  boisterous  joys  of  Odin's  hall. 

And  well  our  Christian  sires  of  old 

Loved  when  the  year  its  course  had  rolled, 

And  brought  blithe  Christmas  back  again, 

With  all  his  hospitable  train. 

Domestic  and  religious  rite 

Gave  honor  to  the  holy  night: 

On  Christmas  eve  the  bells  were  rung ; 

On  Christmas  eve  the  mass  was  sung ; 

That  holy  night,  in  all  the  year, 

Saw  the  stoled  priest  the  chalice  rear. 

The  damsel  donned  her  kirtle  sheen ; 

The  hall  was  dressed  with  holly  green ; 

Forth  to  the  wood  did  merry-men  go, 

To  gather  in  the  mistletoe ; 

Then  opened  wide  the  baron's  hall 

To  vassal,  tenant,  serf,  and  all ; 

Power  laid  his  rod  of  rule  aside, 

And  ceremony  doffed  his  pride. 

[45] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  heir,  with  roses  in  his  shoes, 

That  night  might  village  partner  choose ; 

The  lord,  underogating,  share 

The  vulgar  game  of  ''post  and  pair/' 

All  hailed,  with  uncontrolled  delight, 

And  general  voice,  the  happy  night 

That  to  the  cottage,  as  the  crown, 

Brought  tidings  of  salvation  down. 

The  fire,  with  well-dried  logs  supplied, 

Went  roaring  up  the  chimney  w  ide ; 

The  huge  hall-table's  oaken  face. 

Scrubbed  till  it  shone,  the  day  to  grace, 

Bore  then  upon  its  massive  board 

No  mark  to  part  the  squire  and  lord. 

Then  was  brought  in  the  lusty  brawn 

By  old  blue-coated  serving  man ; 

Then  the  grim  boar's  head  frowned  on  high, 

Crested  with  bays  and  rosemary. 

Well  can  the  green-garbed  ranger  tell. 

How,  when  and  where,  the  monster  fell; 

What  dogs  before  his  death  he  tore, 

And  all  the  baiting  of  the  boar. 

The  Wassail  round,  in  good  brown  bowls. 

Garnished  with  ribbons,  blithely  trowls. 

There  the  huge  sirloin  reeked ;  hard  by 

Plum-porridge  stood,  and  Christmas  pie; 

[46] 


^  HEAVEN  .  OUR  •  LOVE  •  DEFEND  ^ 


Nor  failed  old  Scotland  to  produce, 
At  such  high  tide,  her  savory  goose. 
Then  came  the  merry  masquers  in, 
And  carols  roared  with  blithesome  din ; 
If  unmelodious  was  the  song, 
It  was  a  hearty  note,  and  strong, 
Who  lists  may  in  their  mumming  see 
Traces  of  ancient  mystery ; 
White  shirts  supplied  the  masquerade, 
And  smutted  cheeks  the  vizors  made : 

But,  O !  what  masquers,  richly  digfht. 
Can  boast  of  bosoms  half  so  light ! 
England  was  merry  England,  when 
Old  Christmas  brought  his  sports  again. 
'Twas  Christmas  broached  the  mightiest  ale ; 
Twas  Christmas  told  the  merriest  tale; 
A  Christmas  gambol  oft  could  cheer 
The  poor  man's  heart  through  half  the  year. 
Sir  Walter  Scott. 


[47] 


fZ^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Christmas  Day 

THE  time  draws  near  the  birth  of  Christ : 
The  moon  is  hid ;  the  night  is  still ; 
The  Christmas  bells  from  hill  to  hill 
Answer  to  each  other  in  the  mist. 


Four  voices  of  four  hamlets  round, 
From  far  and  near,  on  mead  and  moor, 
Swell  out  and  fail,  as  if  a  door 

Were  shut  between  me  and  the  sound : 


Each  voice  four  changes  on  the  wind, 
That  now  dilate  and  now  decrease, 
Peace  and  good-will,  good-will  and  peace, 

Peace  and  good-will  to  all  mankind. 


This  year  I  slept  and  woke  with  pain, 
I  almost  wish'd  no  more  to  wake, 
And  that  my  hold  on  life  would  break 

Before  I  heard  those  bells  again : 

[48] 


^       THE  .  MERRY  •  BELLS  •  OF  •  YULE        ^ 

But  they  my  troubled  spirit  rule, 
For  they  controll'd  me  when  a  boy ; 
They  bring  me  sorrow  touched  with  joy, 

The  merry,  merry  bells  of  Yule. 

With  such  compelling  cause  to  grieve 
As  daily  vexes  household  peace, 
And  chains  regret  to  his  decease, 

How  dare  we  keep  our  Christmas  eve ; 

Which  brings  no  more  a  welcome  guest 
To  enrich  the  threshold  of  the  night 
With  shower'd  largess  of  delight 

In  dance  and  song  and  game  and  jest? 

Yet  go,  and  while  the  holly  boughs 
Entwine  the  cold  baptismal  font, 
Make  one  wreath  more  for  Use  and  Womb, 

That  guard  the  portals  of  the  house ; 

Old  sisters  of  a  day  gone  by, 

Gray  nurses,  loving  nothing  new ; 
Why  should  they  miss  their  yearly  due 

Before  their  time  ?    They,  too,  will  die. 

[49] 


|X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

With  trembling  fingers  did  we  weave 
The  holly  round  the  Christmas  hearth ; 
A  rainy  cloud  possess'd  the  earth, 

And  sadly  fell  our  Christmas  eve. 

At  our  old  pastimes  in  the  hall 

We  gamboird,  making  vain  pretence 
Of  gladness,  with  an  awful  sense 

Of  one  mute  Shadow  watching  all. 

We  paused :  the  winds  were  in  the  beech : 
We  heard  them  sweep  the  winter  land ; 
And  in  a  circle  hand  in  hand 

Sat  silent,  looking  each  at  each. 

Then  echo-like  our  voices  rang; 

We  sang,  though  every  eye  was  dim, 
A  merry  song  we  sang  with  him 

Last  year :  impetuously  we  sang : 

We  ceased  :  a  gentler  feeling  crept 

Upon  us :  surely  rest  is  meet : 

*They  rest,'' we  said,'' their  sleep  is  sweet,' 
And  silence  .followed,  and  we  wept. 

[50] 


)^  RISE  .  HOLY  .  MORN  ^ 

Our  voices  took  a  higher  range  ; 

Once  more  we  sang :    ''They  do  not  die 
Nor  lose  their  mortal  sympathy, 

Nor  change  to  us,  altho'  they  change ; 

"Rapt  from  the  fickle  and  the  frail 
With  gathered  power,  yet  the  same, 
Pierces  the  keen  seraphic  flame 

From  orb  to  orb,  from  veil  to  veil." 

Rise,  happy  morn ;  rise,  holy  morn ; 

Draw  forth  the  cheerful  day  from  night : 
O  Father,  touch  the  east,  and  light 

The  light  that  shone  when  Hope  was  born. 

Alfred  Tennyson. 
In  Memoriam, 


[51] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Children's  Christmas  Eve 

REJOICE  in  God  alway, 
With  stars  in  Heaven  rejoice, 
Ere  dawn  of  Christ's  own  day 

Lift  up  each  Httle  voice. 
Look  up  with  glad,  pure  eye, 
And  count  those  lamps  on  high. 
Nay,  who  may  count  them  ?    On  our  gaze 
They    from    their    deeps    come    out    in   ever- 
widening  maze. 

Each  in  his  stand  aloof 

Prepares  his  keenest  beam 
Upon  that  hovel  roof, 

In  at  that  door,  to  stream 
Where  meekly  waits  her  time 
The  whole  earth's  Flower  and  Prime : — 
Where  in  few  hours  the  Eternal  One 
Will  make  a  clear,  new  day,  rising  before  the 
sun. 

Rejoice  in  God  alway. 

With  each  green  leaf  rejoice, 

Of  berries  on  each  spray 
The  brightest  be  your  choice. 

[52] 


I 
I 


^  REJOICE  .  IN  .  GOD  .  ALWAY  ^ 

From  bower  and  mountain  lone 
The  autumnal  hues  are  gone, 
Yet  gay  shall  be  our  Christmas  wreath, 
The    glistening    beads    above,  the    burnish'd 
leaves  beneath. 

Rejoice  in  God  alway, 

With  Powers  rejoice  on  high, 
Who  now  with  glad  array 

Are  gathering  in  the  sky, 
His  cradle  to  attend, 
And  there  all  lowly  bend. 
But  half  so  low  as  He  hath  bow'd 
Did  never  highest  Angel  stoop  from  brightest 
cloud. 

Rejoice  in  God  alway, 

All  creatures,  bird  and  beast; 
Rejoice,  again  I  say, 

His  mightiest  and  His  least; 
From  ox  and  ass  that  wait 
Here  on  His  poor  estate. 
To  the  four  living  Powers,  decreed 
A  thousand  ways  at  once  His  awful  car  to 
speed. 

[53] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 


Rejoice  in  God  alway ; 

With  Saints  in  Paradise 
Your  midnight  service  say, 

For  vigil  glad  arise. 
Ev'n  they  in  their  calm  bowers 
Too  tardy  find  the  hours 
Till  He  reveal  the  wondrous  Birth : 
How  must  we  look  and  long,  chain'd  here  to 
sin  and  earth ! 


Ye  babes,  to  Jesus  dear. 

Rejoice  in  Him  alway. 
Ye  whom  He  bade  draw  near. 
O'er  whom  He  loved  to  pray, 
Wake,  and  lift  up  the  head, 
Each  in  his  quiet  bed. 
Listen !    His  voice  the  night  wind  brings : 
He  in  your  cradle  lies,  He  in  our  carol  sings. 

John  Keble. 


[54] 


^  KEEP  .  OLD  .  CHRISTMAS  •  UP  ^ 

COME  down  to-marra  night,  and  mind 
Don't  leave  thy  fiddle-bag  behind. 
We'll  shaik  a  lag  and  drink  a  cup 
O'  yal  to  kip  wold  Christmas  up. 

An'  let  thy  sister  tiake  thy  yarm, 
The  wa'k  woon't  do  'er  any  harm. 
Ther's  noo  dirt  now  to  spwile  her  frock, 
Var  'tis  a-vroze  so  hard's  a  rock. 

Ther  bent  noo  stranngers  that  'ull  come, 
But  only  a  vew  naighbours ;  zome 
Vrom  Stowe,  an'  Combe,  an'  two  ar  dree 
Vrom  uncle's  up  at  Rookery. 

An'  thee  woot  vine  a  ruozy  fiace, 
An*  pair  ov  eyes  so  black  as  sloos, 
The  pirtiest  oones  in  al  the  pliace, 
I'm  sure  I  needen  tell  thee  whose. 

We  got  a  black  bran',  dree  girt  logs, 
So  much  as  dree  ov  us  can  car. 
We'll  put  'em  up  athirt  the  dogs. 
An'  miake  a  vier  to  the  bar. 

[55] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )^ 

An'  ev'ry  oone  wull  tell  his  tale, 
An'  ev'ry  oone  wull  zing  his  zong, 
An'  ev'ry  oone  wull  drink  his  yal, 
To  love  an'  frien'ship  al  night  long. 

We'll  snap  the  tongs,  we'll  have  a  bal, 
We'll  shiake  the  house,  we'll  rise  the  ruf, 
We'll  romp  an'  miake  the  maidens  squal, 
A-catchen  o'm  at  bline-man's  buff. 

Zoo  come  to-marra  night,  an'  mind 
Don't  leave  thy  fiddle-bag  behind. 
We'll  shiake  a  lag,  an'  drink  a  cup 
O'  yal  to  kip  wold  Chris'mas  up. 

William  Barnes. 


A    Christmas    Carol 

I  care  not  for  spring:  on  this  fickle  wing 
Let  the  blossoms  and  buds  be  borne : 
He  wooes,  them  amain  with  his  treacherous 
rain, 
And  he  scatters  them  ere  the  morn. 

[56] 


^      CHRISTMAS  .  KIXG  •  OF  •  SEASONS       ^ 

An  inconstant  elf,  he  knows  not  himself 
Xor  his  own  changing  mind  an  hour, 

He'll    smile    in    your    face,    and,    with    wry 
grimace, 
He'll  wither  vour  vouno:est  flower. 


Let  the  summer  sun  to  his  bright  home  run, 

He  shall  never  be  sought  by  me ; 
When  he's  dimmed  by  a  cloud  I  can  laugh 
aloud, 

And  care  not  how  sulky  he  be ! 
For  his  darling  child  is  the  madness  wild 

That  sports  in  fierce  fever's  train ; 
And  when  love  is  too  strong,  it  don't  last  long, 

As  many  have  found  to  their  pain. 


A  mild  harvest  night,  by  the  tranquil  light 

Of  the  modest  and  gentle  moon, 
Has  a  far  sweeter  sheen,  for  me,  I  ween, 

Than  the  broad  and  unblushing  noon 
But  every  leaf  awakens  my  grief, 

As  it  lieth  beneath  the  tree ; 
So  let  autumn  air  be  never  so  fair, 

It  by  no  means  agrees  with  me. 

[57] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMx\S  .  TREASURY  ^ 

But  my  song  I  troll  out,  for  Christmas  stout. 
The  hearty,  the  true,  and  the  bold ; 

A  bumper  I  drain,  and  with  might  and  main 
Give  three  cheers  for  this  Christmas  old ! 

We'll  usher  him  in  with  a  merry  din 
That  shall  gladden  his  joyous  heart. 

And  we'll  keep  him  up,  while  there's  bite  or 
sup, 
And  in  fellowship  good  we'll  part. 

In  his  fine,  honest  pride,  he  scorns  to  hide 

One  jot  of  his  hard-weather  scars; 
They're  no  disgrace,  for  there's  much  the  same 
trace 

On  the  cheeks  of  our  bravest  tars. 
Then  again  I  sing,  till  the  roof  doth  ring, 

And  it  echoes  from  wall  to  wall — 
To  the  stout  old  wight,  fair  welcome  to-night, 

As  the  King  of  the  Seasons  all ! 

Charles  Dickens. 


[58] 


^  GOD  •  UNITE  .  OUR  •  HEARTS  •  ARIGHT  ^ 


The  Angel's  Story 

THROUGH  the  blue  and  frosty  heavens 
Christmas  stars  were  shining  bright; 
Glistening  lamps  throughout  the  City 

Almost  matched  their  gleaming  light ; 
While  the  winter  snow  was  lying. 
And  the  winter  winds  were  sighing, 
Long  ago,  one  Christmas  night. 


While  from  every  tower  and  steeple 
Pealing  bells  were  sounding  clear 

(Never  with  such  tones  of  gladness 
Save  when  Christmas  time  is  near), 

Many  a  one  that  night  was  merry 
Who  had  toiled  through  all  the  year. 


That  night  saw  old  wrongs  forgiven. 
Friends,  long  parted,  reconciled; 

Voices  all  unused  to  laughter, 
Mournful  eyes  that  rarely  smiled, 

Trembling  hearts  that  feared  the  morrow, 
From  their  anxious  thoughts  beguiled. 

[59] 


>^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

Rich  and  poor  felt  love  and  blessing 
From  the  gracious  season  fall ; 

Joy  and  plenty  in  the  cottage, 
Peace  and  feasting  in  the  hall; 

And  the  voices  of  the  children 
Ringing  clear  above  it  all ! 

Adelaide  A.  Procter. 


The  Mahogany  Tree 

CHRISTMAS  is  here; 
Winds  whistle  shrill. 
Icy  and  chill, 
Little  care  we  : 
Little  we  fear 
Weather  without, 
Sheltered  about 
The  mahogany  tree. 

Once  on  the  boughs, 
Birds  of  rare  plume 
Sang,  in  its  bloom; 
Night  birds  are  we: 


[60] 


^  SIT  .  ROUND  .  THE  •  OLD  •  TREE  ^ 

Here  we  carouse, 
Singing  like  them, 
Perched  round  the  stem 
Of  the  jolly  old  tree. 

Here  let  us  sport, 
Boys,  as  we  sit; 
Laughter  and  wit 
Flashing  so  free. 
Life  is  but  short — 
When  we  are  gone, 
Let  them  sing  on, 
Round  the  old  tree. 

Evenings  w^e  knew, 
Happy  as  this; 
Faces  we  miss, 
Pleasant  to  see. 
Kind  hearts  and  true. 
Gentle  and  just, 
Peace  to  your  dust! 

We  sing  round  the  tree. 

Care,  like  a  dun, 
Lurks  at  the  gate: 

[6i] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Let  the  dog  wait: 
Happy  we'll  be! 
Drink,  every  one ; 
Pile  up  the  coals, 
Fill  the  red  bowls. 
Round  the  old  tree! 

Drain  we  the  cup — 
Friend,  art  afraid? 
Spirits  are  laid 
In  the  Red  Sea. 
Mantle  it  up; 
Empty  it  yet; 
Let  us  forget, 
Round  the  old  tree. 

Sorrows,  begone ! 
Life  and  its  ills, 
Duns  and  their  bills, 
Bid  we  to  flee. 
Come  w^ith  the  dawn, 
Blue-devil  sprite, 
Leave  us  to-night, 
Round  the  old  tree, 

W.  M.  Thackeray. 

[62] 


^   THE  •  MERRY  •  CHRISTMAS  •  TIME  }^ 


The   End   of   the   Play 

^n^^HE  play  is  done — the  curtain  drops, 

I  Slow  falling  to  the  prompter's  bell ; 

A  moment  yet  the  actor  stops, 

And  looks  around,  to  say  farewell. 
It  is  an  irksome  word  and  task, 

And  when  he's  laugh'd  and  said  his  say, 
He  shows,  as  he  removes  the  mask, 

A  face  that's  anything  but  gay. 

One  word,  ere  yet  the  evening  ends : 

Let's  close  it  with  a  parting  rhyme, 
x\nd  pledge  a  hand  to  all  young  friends, 

As  fits  the  merry  Christmas  time. 
On  life's  wide  scene  you,  too,  have  parts, 

That  fate  ere  long  shall  bid  you  play ; 
Good-night! — with  honest,  gentle  hearts 

A  kindly  greeting  go  alway ! 

Good-night !    I'd  say  the  griefs,  the  joys, 
Just  hinted  in  this  mimic  page, 

The  triumphs  and  defeats  of  boys. 
Are  but  repeated  in  our  age ; 

1^3] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  |^ 

rd  say  your  woes  were  not  less  keen, 

Your  hopes  more  vain,  than  those  of  men, 

Your  pangs  or  pleasure  of  fifteen 
At  forty-five  played  o'er  again. 

I'd  say  we  sufifer  and  we  strive 

Not  less  nor  more  as  men  than  boys, 
With  grizzled  beards  at  forty-five, 

As  erst  at  twelve  in  corduroys ; 
And  if,  in  time  of  sacred  youth, 

We  learn'd  at  home  to  love  and  pray. 
Pray  heaven  that  early  love  and  truth 

May  never  wholly  pass  away. 

And  in  the  world,  as  in  the  school, 

I'd  say  how  fate  may  change  and  shift, 
The  prize  be  sometimes  with  the  fool, 

The  race  not  always  to  the  swift ; 
The  strong  may  yield,  the  good  may  fall. 

The  great  man  be  a  vulgar  clown, 
The  knave  be  lifted  over  all. 

The  kind  cast  pitilessly  down. 

Who  knows  the  inscrutable  design  ? 
Blessed  be  He  who  took  and  gave ! 

[64] 


^  BE  •  EACH  .  A  .  GENTLEMAN  ^ 

Why  should  your  mother,  Charles,  not  mine, 
Be  weeping  at  her  darling's  grave  ? 

We  bow  to  heaven  that  will'd  it  so, 
That  darkly  rules  the  fate  of  all, 

That  sends  the  respite  or  the  blow, 
That's  free  to  give  or  to  recall. 

This  crowns  his  feast  with  wine  and  wit — 

Who  brought  him  to  that  mirth  and  state  ? 
His  betters,  see,  below  him  sit. 

Or  hunger  hopeless  at  the  gate. 
Who  bade  the  mud  from  Dives'  wheel 

To  spurn  the  rags  of  Lazarus  ? 
Come,  brother,  in  that  dust  we'll  kneel, 

Confessing  heaven  that  rul'd  it  thus. 

So  each  shall  mourn,  in  life's  advance. 

Dear  hopes,  dear  friends,  untimely  kill'd; 
Shall  grieve  for  many  a  forfeit  chance, 

And  longing  passion  unfulfiU'd. 
Amen  !    Whatever  fate  be  sent. 

Pray  God  the  heart  may  kindly  glow, 
Although  the  head  with  cares  be  bent 

And  whitened  with  the  winter  snow. 
Come  wealth  or  want,  come  good  or  ill. 

Let  young  and  old  accept  their  part, 

[65] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )^ 

And  bow  before  the  awful  will, 
And  bear  it  with  an  honest  heart. 

Who  misses  or  who  wins  the  prize — 
Go,  lose  or  conquer  as  you  can ; 

But  if  you  fail,  or  if  you  rise. 
Be  each,  pray  God,  a  gentleman. 

A  gentleman,  or  old  or  young ! 

(Bear  kindly  with  my  humble  lays) 
The  sacred  chorus  first  was  sung 

Upon  the  first  of  Christmas  days ; 
The  shepherds  heard  it  overhead — 

The  joyful  angels  rais'd  it  then ; 
Glory  to  heaven  on  high,  it  said, 

And  peace  on  earth  to  gentlemen! 

My  song,  save  this,  is  little  worth; 

I  lay  the  weary  pen  aside. 
And  wish  you  health  and  love  and  mirth, 

As  fits  the  solemn  Christmas-tide. 
As  fits  the  holy  Christmas  birth. 

Be  this,  good  friends,  our  carol  still : 
Be  peace  on  earth,  be  peace  on  earth, 

To  men  of  gentle  will. 

W.  M.  Thackeray. 
[66] 


^  THE  .  EVERGREEX  .  TREE  ^ 


The  Christmas   Mistletoe 

WHEX  winter  nights  grow  long, 
And  winds  without  blow  cold, 
We  sit  in  a  ring  round  the  warm  wood  fire 

And  listen  to  stories  old ! 
And  we  try  to  look  grave   (as  maids  should 

be)  ' 
When  the  men  bring  in  boughs  of  the  laurel 
tree. 
O  the  laurel,  the  evergreen  tree ! 
The  poets  have  laurels — and  why  not  we? 

How  pleasant,  when  night  falls  down, 

And  hides  the  wintry  sun, 
To  see  them  come  in  to  the  blazing  fire, 

And  know  that  their  work  is  done ; 
Whilst  many  bring  in,  with  a  laugh  or  rhyme, 
Green  branches  of  holly  for  Christmas  time ! 

O  the  holly,  the  bright  green  holly! 

It  tells   (like  a  tongue)  that  the  times  are 
jolly! 

Sometimes — (in  our  grave  house 
Observe  this  happeneth  not) 

[67] 


^  THE  •  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

But  at  times,  the  evergreen  laurel  boughs 

And  the  holly  are  all  forgot ! 
And  then!  what  then?     Why,  the  men  laugh 

low, 
And  hang  up  a  branch  of  the  mistletoe ! 

Oh,  brave  is  the  laurel !  and  brave  is  the 
holly ! 

But  the  mistletoe  banisheth  melancholy! 
Ah,  nobody  knows,  nor  ever  shall  know, 
What  is  done  under  the  mistletoe ! 

Barry  Cornwall. 


Christmas     Bells 

{HEARD  the  bells  on  Christmas  Day 
Their  old,  familiar  carols  play, 
And  wild  and  sweet 
The  words  repeat, 
Of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men ! 

And  thought  how^  as  the  day  had  come, 
The  belfries  of  all  Christendom 

[68] 


^  PEACE  .  OX  .  EARTH  ^ 

Had  rolled  along 
The  unbroken  song 
Of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men! 

Till,  ringing,  singing  on  its  way, 
The  world  revolved  from  night  to  day, 

A  voice,  a  chime, 

A  chant  sublime 
Of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men ! 

Then  from  each  black,  accursed  mouth 
The  cannon  thundered  in  the  South, 

And  with  the  sound 

The  carols  drowned 
Of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men ! 

It  was  as  if  an  earthquake  rent 
The  hearthstones  of  a  continent. 

And  made  forlorn 

The  households  born 
Of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men! 

And  in  despair  I  bow^d  my  head ; 
'There  is  no  peace  on  earth,"  I  said; 

[69] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

'Tor  hate  is  strong, 
And  mocks  the  song 
Of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men!" 

Then  pealed  the  bells  more  loud  and  deep : 
*'God  is  not  dead,  nor  doth  He  sleep ! 

The  Wrong  shall  fail, 

The  Right  prevail, 
With  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men !" 

Henry  W.  Longfellow. 


Under  the  Holly  Bough 

YE  who  have  scorn'd  each  other, 
Or  injured  friend  or  brother. 

In  this  fast  fading  year ; 
Ye  who,  by  word  or  deed. 
Hath  made  a  kind  heart  bleed. 

Come  gather  here. 
Let  sinn'd  against  and  sinning 
Forget  their  strife's  beginning; 
Be  links  no  longer  broken. 
Be  sweet  forgiveness  spoken, 

Under  the  holly  bough. 

[70] 


^  GOOD  .  WILL  .  TO  •  MEN  ^ 

Ye  who  have  lov'd  each  other, 
Sister  and  friend  and  brother, 

In  this  fast  fading  year ; 
Mother,  and  sire,  and  child, 
Young  man  and  maiden  mild, 

Come  gather  here; 
And  let  your  hearts  grow  fonder, 
As  memory  shall  ponder 

Each  past  unbroken  vow. 
Old  loves,  and  younger  wooing, 
Are  sweet  in  the  renewing, 

Under  the  holly  bough. 

Ye  who  have  nourished  sadness. 
Estranged  from  hope  and  gladness. 

In  this  fast  fading  year  ; 
Ye  with  overburdened  mind, 
Made  aliens  from  your  kind, 

Come  gather  here. 
Let  not  the  useless  sorrow 
Pursue  you  night  and  morrow; 

If  e'er  you  hoped — hope  now; 
Take  heart ;  uncloud  your  faces. 
And  join  in  our  embraces 

Under  the  holly  bough. 

Charles  Mackay. 

[71] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


They  Leave  the  Land  of  Gems  and  Gold 

THEY  leave  the  land  of  gems  and  gold, 
The  shining  portals  of  the  East ; 
For  Him,  the  woman's  Seed  foretold, 
They  leave  the  revel  and  the  feast. 


To  earth  their  scepters  they  have  cast. 
And  crowns  by  kings  ancestral  worn; 

They  track  the  lonely  Syrian  waste ; 
They  kneel  before  the  Babe  new  born. 


O  happy  eyes  that  saw  Him  first ! 

O  happy  lips  that  kissed  His  feet ! 
Earth  slakes  at  last  her  ancient  thirst, 

With  Eden's  joy  her  pulses  beat. 


Trufe  kings  are  those  who  thus  forsake 
Their  kingdoms  for  the  Eternal  King ; 

Serpent,  her  foot  is  on  thy  neck ; 

Herod,  thou  writhest,  but  canst  not  sting. 

[72] 


^      BETHLEHEM  •  CRADLES  •  A  •  KING       ^ 

He,  He  is  King,  and  He  alone, 
Who  lifts  that  infant  hand  to  bless ; 

Who  makes  His  mother's  knee  His  throne, 
Yet  rules  the  starry  wilderness. 

Aubrey  de  \^ere. 


A  Christmas  Carol 


r 


^HERE'S  a  song  in  the  air ! 
There's  a  star  in  the  sky ! 
There's  a  mother's  deep  prayer 
And  a  baby's  low  cry  ! 
And  the  star  rains  its  fire  while  the  Beautiful 

sing, 
For  the  manger  of  Bethlehem  cradles  a  king. 

There's  a  tumult  of  joy 

O'er  the  wonderful  birth, 

For  the  Virgin's  sweet  boy 

Is  the  Lord  of  the  earth. 
Ay!  the  star  rains  its  fire  and  the  Beautiful 

sing, 
For  the  manger  of  Bethlehem  cradles  a  king. 

[73] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

In  the  light  of  that  star 

Lie  the  ages  impearled ; 

And  that  song  from  afar 

Has  swept  over  the  world. 
Every  hearth  is  aflame  and  the  Beautiful  sing 
In  the  homes  of  the  nations  that  Jesus  is  King. 

We  rejoice  in  the  light, 
And  we  echo  the  song 
That  comes  down  through  the  night 
From  the  heavenly  throng. 
Ay !  we  shout  to  the  lovely  evangel  they  bring, 
And  we  greet  in  his  cradle  our  Saviour  and 
King. 

JosiAH  Gilbert  Holland. 


A  Lullaby  for  Christmas 

SLEEP,  baby,  sleep  !    The  mother  sings  : 
Heaven's    angels    kneel    and    fold    their 
wings. 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep  !    The  father  cries  : 
Stars  lean  and  w^orship  from  the  skies. 

[74] 


^  SLEEP  .  BABY  •  SLEEP  ^ 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 
With  swathes  of  scented  hay  Thy  bed 
By  Mary's  hand  at  eve  was  spread. 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

At  midnight  came  the  shepherds,  they 
Whom  angels  wakened  by  the  way. 
Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

And  three  kings  from  the  East  afar, 
Ere  dawn,  came,  guided  by  Thy  star. 
Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

They  brought  Thee  gifts  of  gold  and  gems. 
Pure  Orient  pearls,  rich  diadems. 
Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

But  Thou,  who  liest  slumbering  there, 
Art  King  of  kings,  earth,  stars,  and  air. 
Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep !     The  shepherds  sing : 
Through    earth,    through    heaven,    hosannas 
ring. 

Sleep,  baby,  sleep ! 

John  Addixgton  Symoxds. 

[75] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Christmas    Once    Is    Christmas    Still 

THE  silent  skies  are  full  of  speech 
For  who  hath  ears  to  hear ; 
The  winds  are  whispering  each  to  each, 
The  moon  is  calling  to  the  beech, 
And  stars  their  sacred  mission  teach, 
Of  Faith,  and  Love,  and  Fear. 


But  once  the  sky  its  silence  broke. 
And  song  o'erflowed  the  earth. 
The  midnight  air  with  glory  shook. 
And  angels  mortal  language  spoke, 
When  God  our  human  nature  took, 
In  Christ  the  Savior's  birth. 


And  Christmas  once  is  Christmas  still ; 

The  gates  through  which  He  came, 
And  forests  wild  and  murmuring  rill. 
And  fruitful  field  and  breezy  hill. 
And  all  that  else  the  wide  world  fill, 

Are  vocal  with  His  name. 

[76] 


^  O  ■  NEVER  .  SILENT  •  SONG  ^ 

Shall  we  not  listen  while  they  sing, 

This  latest  Christmas  morn, 
And  music  hear  in  everything, 
And  faithful  lives  in  tribute  bring 
To  the  great  song  which  greets  the  King 

Who  comes  when  Christ  is  born? 


The  sky  can  still  remember 

The  earliest  Christmas  morn, 
When  in  the  cold  December 

The  Savior  Christ  was  born; 
And  still  in  darkness  clouded, 

And  still  in  noonday  light, 
It  feels  its  far  depths  crowded 

With  Angels  fair  and  bright. 


O  never  failing  splendor ! 

O  never  silent  song! 
Still  keep  the  green  earth  tender, 

Still  keep  the  gray  earth  strong ; 
Still  keep  the  brave  earth  dreaming 

Of  deeds  that  shall  be  done, 
While  children's  lives  come  streaming 

Like  sunbeams  from  the  sun. 

l77^ 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

No  Star  unfolds  its  glory, 

No  trumpet's  wind  is  blown, 
But  tells  the  Christmas  story 

In  music  of  its  own. 
No  eager  strife  of  mortals, 

In  busy  fields  or  town, 
But  sees  the  open  portals 

Through  which  the  Christ  came  down. 


O  Angels  sweet  and  splendid, 

Throng  in  our  hearts,  and  sing 
The  wonders  which  attended 

The  coming  of  the  King; 
Till  we,  too,  boldly  pressing 

Where  once  the  Angel  trod. 
Climb  Bethlehem's  Hill  of  Blessing", 

And  find  the  Son  of  God. 

Phillips  Brooks. 


[78] 


I 


]^      THE  .  SONG  .  THE  •  ANGELS  •  SUNG     }^ 


The  Voice  of  the   Christ-Child 

THE  earth  has  grown  cold  with  its  burden 
of  care, 
But  at  Christmas  it  always  is  young. 
The  heart  of  the  jewel  burns  lustrous  and  fair, 
And  its  soul  full  of  music  breaks  forth  on  the 
air. 
When  the  song  of  the  Angels  is  sung. 

It  is  comings  old  earth,  it  is  coming  to-night ; 

On  the  snowflakes  which  cover  thy  sod. 
The  feet  of  the  Christ-child  fall  gently  and 

white, 
And  the  voice  of  the  Christ-child  tells  out  with 
delight 
That  mankind  are  the  children  of  God. 

On  the  sad  and  the  lonely,  the  wretched  and 
poor, 
That  voice  of  the  Christ-child  shall  fall ; 
And  to  every  blind  wanderer  opens  the  door 
Of  a  hope  which  he  dared  not  to  dream  of 
before. 
With  a  sunshine  of  welcome  for  all. 

[79] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  ^ 

The  feet  of  the  humblest  may  walk  in  the  field 

Where  the  feet  of  the  holiest  have  trod; 
This,  this  is  the  marvel  to  mortals  revealed, 
When  the  silvery  trumpets  of  Christmas  have 
pealed, 
That  mankind  are  the  children  of  God. 

Phillips  Brooks. 


Merry     Christmas 

IN  the  rush  of  the  merry  morning, 
When  the  red  burns  through  the  gray, 
And  the  wintry  world  lies  waiting  I 

For  the  glory  of  the  day, 
Then  we  hear  a  fitful  rushing 

Just  without,  upon  the  stair,  J 

See  two  white  phantoms  coming, 
Catch  the  gleam  of  sunny  hair. 


Are  they  Christmas  fairies,  stealing 
Rows  of  little  socks  to  fill  ? 

Are  they  Angels  floating  hither 
With  their  message  of  good-will? 

[80] 


I 


)^      A  •  MERRY  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TO  •  ALL      ^ 

What  sweet  spell  are  these  elves  weaving, 
As  like  larks  they  chirp  and  sing? 

Are  these  palms  of  peace  from  heaven 
That  these  lovely  spirits  bring? 

Rosy  feet  upon  the  threshold, 

Eager  faces  peeping  through. 
With  the  first  red  ray  of  sunshine 

Chanting  cherubs  come  in  view; 
Mistletoe  and  gleaming  holly. 

Symbols  of  a  blessed  day, 
In  their  chubby  hands  they  carry, 

Streaming  all  along  the  way. 

Well  we  know  them,  never  weary 

Of  their  innocent  surprise : 
Waiting,  watching,  listening  always 

With  full  hearts  and  tender  eyes, 
While  our  little  household  angels. 

White  and  golden  in  the  sun. 
Greet  us  wdth  the  sweet  old  welcome — 

''Merry  Christmas,  every  one !'' 

Author  Unknown. 


[8i] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Christmas     Bells 

HARK !  the  Christmas  bells  are  ringing — 
Ringing  through  the  frosty  air — 
Happiness  to  each  one  bringing, 
And  release  from  toil  and  care. 

How  the  merry  peal  is  swelling 

From  the  gray  old  crumbling  tower, 

To  the  simplest  creature  telling 
Of  Almighty  love  and  power. 

Ankle-deep  the  snow  is  lying, 
Every  spray  is  clothed  in  white, 

Yet  abroad  the  folk  are  hieing, 
Brisk  and  busy,  gay  and  light. 

Now  fresh  helps  and  aid  are  offered 

To  the  aged  and  the  poor. 
And  rare  love  exchanges  proffered 

At  the  lowliest  cottage  door. 

Neighbors  shaking  hands  and  greeting, 
No  one  sorrowing,  no  one  sad, 

[82] 


|X(       CHRISTMAS  .  BELLS  •  OF  •  PRAISE       ^ 

Children,  loving  parents  meeting, 
Young  and  old  alike  are  glad. 

Then  while  Christmas  bells  are  ringing, 
Rich  and  poor,  your  voices  raise, 

And — your  simple  carol  singing — 
Waft  to  heaven  your  grateful  praise. 

Author  Unknown. 


The    Delights    of    Christmas 

WHEN  Christmas  approaches,  each  bosom 
is  gay. 
That  festival  banishes  sorrow  away ; 
While  Richard  he  kisses  both  Susan  and  Dolly, 
When  tricking  the  house  up  with  ivy  and  holly ; 
For  never  as  yet  it  was  counted  a  crime 
To  be  merry  and  cherry  at  that  happy  time. 

Then  comes  turkey  and  chine,  with  the  famous 

roast  beef, 
Of  EngHsh  provisions  still  reckoned  the  chief; 

[83] 


]^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )X^ 

Roger   wishes    the   cook-maid   his    wishes   to 

crown, 
"Oh,  Dolly !  pray  give  me  a  bit  of  the  brown ;'' 
For  never  as  yet  it  was  counted  a  crime 
To  be  merry  and  cherry  at  that  happy  time. 


The    luscious    plum    pudding    does    smoking 

appear. 
And  the  charming  mince  pie  is  not  far  in  the 

rear ; 
Then  each  licks  his  chops  to  behold  such  a 

sight. 
For  to  taste  it  affords  him  superior  delight ; 
For  never  as  yet  it  was  counted  a  crime 
To  be  merry  and  cherry  at  that  happy  time. 


Now    the    humming    October    goes    merrily 

round, 
And  each  with  good  humor  is  happily  crown'd, 
The  song  and  the  dance,  and  the  mirth-giving 

jest, 
Alike  without  harm  by  each  one  is  expressed. 
For  never  as  yet  it  was  counted  a  crime 
To  be  merry  and  cherry  at  that  happy  time. 

[84] 


^  AT  .  THAT  .  HAPPY  •  TIME  ^ 

Twelfth   Day   next   approaches,   to   give  you 

delight, 
And  the  sugar'd  rich  cake  is  display'd  to  the 

sight; 
Then  sloven  and  slut,  and  the  King  and  the 

Queen, 
Alike  must  be  present  to  add  to  the  scene ; 
For  never  as  yet  it  was  counted  a  crime 
To  be  merry  and  cherry  at  that  happy  time. 


May  each  be  found  thus  as  the  year  circles 

round, 
With  mirth  and  good  humor  each  Christmas 

be  crown'd. 
And  may  all  who  have  plenty  of  riches  in  store 
With  their  bountiful  blessings  make  happy  the 

poor; 
For  never  as  yet  it  was  counted  a  crime 
To  be  merry  and  cherry  at  that  happy  time. 

Author  Unknown, 


[85] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


December 

NAY,  no  closed  doors  for  me, 
But  open  doors  and  open  hearts  and  glee 
To  welcome  young  and  old. 

Dimmest  and  brightest  month  am  I ; 

My  short  days   end,  my  lengthening  days 
begin ; 
What  matters  more  or  less  sun  in  the  sky 

When  all  is  sun  within? 

[December   begins   making  a  wreath   as  he 
sings.] 

Ivy  and  privet,  dark  as  night, 

I  weave  with  hips  and  haws  a  cheerful  show, 
And  holly  for  a  beauty  and  delight, 

And  milky  mistletoe. 

While  high  above  them  all  I  set 

Yew  twigs  and  Christmas  roses  pure  and 
pale; 
Then  Spring  her  snowdrop  and  her  violet 

May  keep,  so  sweet  and  frail ; 

[86] 


)3^  THE  .  CAROL  •  OF  .  LOVE  ^ 

May  keep  each  merry  singing  bird, 

Of  all  her  happy  birds  that  singing  build: 

For  I've  a  carol  which  some  shepherds  heard 
Once  in  a  wintry  field. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 
{''The  Months'' — December.) 

'Xeath  Mistletoe 

^  X  TEATH  mistletoe,  should  chance  arise, 

1  \|      You  may  be  happy  if  you're  wise. 
Though  bored  you  lie  with  pantomime 
And  Christmas  fare  and  Christmas  rhyme — 
One  fine  old  custom  don't  despise. 

If  you're  a  man  of  enterprise, 
You'll  find,  I  venture  to  surmise, 
'Tis  pleasant  then  at  Christmas  time 
'Neath  mistletoe ! 

You  see  they  scarcely  can  disguise 
The  sparkle  of  their  pretty  eyes ; 
x\nd  no  one  thinks  it  is  a  crime, 
When  goes  the  merry  Christmas  chime, 
A  rare  old  rite  to  exercise 
'Neath  mistletoe ! 

J.  ASHBY  StERRY. 

[87] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )X( 


A   Christmas   Carol 

^T^  IS  merry  'neath  the  mistletoe, 

1        When  holly  berries  glisten  bright; 

When  Christmas  fires  gleam  and  glow, 

When  wintry  winds  so  wildly  blow, 
And  all  the  meadows  round  are  white — 

'Tis  merry  'neath  the  mistletoe! 


How  happy  then  are  Fan  and  Flo, 
With  eyes  a-sparkle  with  delight! 

When  Christmas  fires  gleam  and  glow, 

\Mien  dainty  dimples  come  and  go, 

And  maidens  shrink  with  feigned  fright — 

'Tis  merrv  'neath  the  mistletoe ! 


A  privilege  'tis  then,  you  know, 
To  exercise  time-honored  rite ; 

When  Christmas  fires  gleam  and  glow, 

When  loving  lips  may  pout,  although 
With  other  lips  they  oft  unite — 

'Tis  merry  'neath  the  mistletoe ! 

f88] 


^     CHRISTMAS'S  •  LOVING  •  MEMORIES    ^ 

If  Flossy  then  should  whisper  "No!" 
Such  whispers  should  be  stifled  quite, 

When  Christmas  fires  gleam  and  glow ; 

If  Fanny's  coy,  objecting  ''Oh!" 
Be  strangled  by  a  rare  foresight — 

'Tis  merry  'neath  the  mistletoe ! 

When  rosy  lips,  like  Cupid's  bow, 

Assault  provokingly  invite, 
When  Christmas  fires  gleam  and  glow, 
When  slowly  falls  the  sullen  snow. 

And  dull  is  drear  December  night — 
Tis  merry  'neath  the  mistletoe ! 

J.  ASHBY  StERRY. 

Ballade   of   Christmas   Ghosts 

BETWEEN  the  moonlight  and  the  fire, 
In  winter  twilights  long  ago, 
What  ghosts  we  raised  for  your  desire, 

To  make  your  merry  blood  run  slow ! 
How  old,  how  grave,  how  wise  we  grow ! 
No  Christmas  ghost  can  make  us  chill. 
Save  those  that  troop  in  mournful  row — 
The  ghosts  we  all  can  raise  at  will. 

[89] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  ^ 

The  beasts  can  talk  in  barn  and  byre 

On  Christmas  Eve,  old  legends  know. 
As  year  by  year  the  years  retire, 

We  men  fall  silent  then,  I  trow, 
Such  sights  hath  memory  to  show, 

Such  voices  from  the  silence  thrill, 
Such  shapes  return  with  Christmas  snow — 

The  ghosts  we  all  can  raise  at  will. 

Oh,  children  of  the  village  choir. 

Your  carols  on  the  midnight  throw ! 
Oh,  bright  across  the  mist  and  mire. 

Ye  ruddy  hearts  of  Christmas,  glow ! 
Beat  back  the  dread,  beat  down  the  woe, 

Let's  cheerily  descend  the  hill; 
Be  welcome  all,  to  come  or  go — 

The  ghosts  we  all  can  raise  at  will. 

Envoy. 

Friend,  siirsnm  corda,  soon  or  slow 

We  part,  like  guests  who've  joyed  their  fill ; 

Forget  them  not,  nor  mourn  them  so — 
The  ghosts  we  all  can  raise  at  will. 

A.  Lang. 

[90]. 


|X(     CHRISTMAS  .  A  •  MERRY  •  FESTIVAL     ^ 


The  Christmas  of  the  Sorrowful 

THE  shops  are  decked ;  green  wreaths  hang 
fair  to  see ; 
Our  town  is  gay  with  mirth  and  jolHty; 
The  people  crowd,   and  laugh  and  dance  in 

hall— 
'Tis  Christmas  Day,  a  merry  festival ! 

And  sweet  the  story  how,  from  Heaven's  own 

gate, 
The  King's  Son  came,  so  left  His  mighty  state, 
While  angels  sang,  ''Glory  to  God  on  high. 
And  on  earth  peace,  for  Christ  new-born  doth 

lie." 

Then   shepherds   marveled,   and   a   beauteous 

star 
Guided  the  wise  men  from  the  Orient  far, 
To  bend  the  knee  where,  in  poor  stable-rest, 
The  Virgin-Mother  clasped  her  babe  on  breast. 

Yet  some  there  be  that  turn  aside  and  weep : 
Some  in  whose  life  grief's  canker  gnaws  o'er- 
deep, 

[91] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Some  racked  by  pain  or  crushed  by  blindness' 

pall, 
And  some  to  cruel  sickness  bound  in  thrall ; 

Some  that  stretch  helpless  hands  across  the 

flood 
Which  bore  their  dear  ones  from  all  worldly 

good — 
Fain  would  they  drag  those  pale  ghosts  back, 

and  cry, 
*'If  Death  take  all  I  love,  then  I  must  die!" 

And  some  starve  daily,  deeming  rich  folk  hard, 

While  others  from  love's  comfort  stand  de- 
barred. 

And  some  burn  fierce  in  hate,  revenge  or 
wrong — 

Such  fever,  bred  of  injury,  stays  long. 

Some,  groping  at  Faith's  door  in  misty  doubt, 
Are  worn  by  conflict,  from  the  Truth  shut  out. 
To  all  these  woful  souls  a  Christmas  morn 
Brings  but  new  grief  and  weariness  forlorn. 

Then  bid  them  gaze  toward  Calvary's  dark  hill. 
Where  He,  our  Sacrifice,  bleeds  for  us  still — 

[92] 


^      Christ's  •  message  .  of  .  hope      ^ 

Sinless,  compassionate — for  me,  for  you. 
Yea,  mortal  anguish  to  the  full  He  knew. 

Misjudged  He  was,  poor,  mocked,  in  thought 

most  lone ; 
Scarce  counted  He  a  scrip  or  stafif  His  own. 
He  wept,  ne'er  laughed,  and  His  few  years  on 

earth 
Were    toilsome,    void    of    praise,    success    or 

mirth. 

Faint  hearts !     Christ's  message  wings  not  to 

the  glad. 
He  calls  the  blind,  the  lame,  the  sick,  the  s?d. 
The  Christmas  of  the  Sorrowful,  for  sure. 
Within  His  own  short  span  did  He  endure. 

When  here  His  latest  wintry  days  were  spent 
He  wrestled  sore  in  prayer,  and  silent  went 
Out  to  the  desert,  sorrow-led,  where  dim 
The  future  loomed,  and  Death  encompassed 
Him. 

His  hours  as  holy  stairs  led  up  to  God — 
Steps  that  His  aching,  bruised  feet  slow  trod. 

[93] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )X( 


Dwell  ye  on  this,  ye  that  repine  and  fret, 
That  He  may  lift  and  walk  beside  you  yet. 

Bare  earth  and  naked  trees  on  every  side 
We  see  around  us  at  chill  Christmas-tide; 
Yet,  later,  shall  the  crocus  buds  of  gold 
Flame  o'er  this  dank  and  desolate  brown  mold. 

So  shines  the  promise  of  each  Christmas  Day ; 
Though  dark  our  path,  our  Guide  shall  lead 

the  way. 
Here  is  good  cheer,  for  Christ  hath  taught  us 

peace — 
The  Man  of  Sorrows  bids  our  sorrow  cease. 

Lady  Lindsay. 


Ring  the  Bells 


R' 


,  ING  the  bells. 
Ring  the  bells, 
Ring  the  merry  Christmas  bells, 
And  let  their  voice  resound 
Around,  around, 
Till  o'er  the  leas  and  o'er  the  fells 

[94] 


^      THE  .  JOYFUL  •  BELLS  •  OF  -  XMAS      ^ 

The  gladsome  echo  loudly  tells 

How  we  to-day 

Are  blithe  and  gay, 
And  how  for  all  sad  hearts  we  pray. 

Ring  the  bells, 

Ring  the  bells, 
Ring  the  joyful  Christmas  bells  ! 

Ring  the  bells, 

Ring  the  bells. 
Ring  the  merry  Christmas  bells. 
So  ring  them  high  and  low, 

O'er  ice  and  snow, 
O'er  cragged  hills  and  silent  dells. 
While  round  the  earth  the  message  swells, 

How  we  to-day 

Are  blithe  and  gay, 
And  how  for  all  sad  hearts  we  pray. 

Ring  the  bells, 

Ring  the  bells. 
Ring  the  joyful  Christmas  bells ! 

Lady  Lindsay. 


[95] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 


The   Coming  of   Christmas 

CHRISTMAS  is  a-drawing  near, 
Christmas-tide  and  Christmas  cheer, 
Merry  wassail,  merry  song, 
Joyous  dance  and  roundelay — 
All  that  doth  to  Yule  belong. 
Yet  unto  my  soul  I  say, 
'Thou  that  slumberest,  wake  and  pray/' 

Christmas  is  a-nearing  quite, 

Time  of  feast  and  full  delight, 

Pleasant  pomp  and  allegresse. 

Harp  and  viol's  music  gay. 

Jeweled  tokens,  gaudy  dress. 

Yet  unto  my  soul  I  say, 

'Thou  that  slumberest,  wake  and  pray." 

Christmas — Sheahan — Fifteen 

Christm.as  is  a-chiming  soon. 

Bringing  Love  for  choicest  boon, 

Pensioners  to  sit  in  hall, 

Comrades,  friends  of  many  a  day,  ,  . 

Greeting  fair  from  great  and  small. 

Yet  unto  my  soul  I  say, 

'Thou  that  slumberest,  wake  and  pray." 

Lady  Lindsay. 
[96] 


}^      HOPE  .  IS  .  THE  ■  CHILD  •  OF  •  LOVE     }^ 


hristmas   Communion 

COME  in,  dear  Babe,  and  rest! 
Cold  is  the  night,  and  keen ; 
Here  is  no  Mother  with  her  milky  breast, 
Her  long  hair's  silken  screen, 
To  hide  from  Thee  the  stable,  poor  and  mean. 

There  are  no  angel-folk 

Hung  between  Heaven  and  earth, 
Making  the  night  a  glory,  and  no  flock 
Of  stars  that  sing  for  mirth 
Because   of   the   wonderful,    long-looked    for 
Birth. 

It  is  so  dark  and  cold. 

Colder  than  Bethlehem  was; 
Here  are  no  sheets  with  lavender  in  fold, 

Nor  even  the  pleached  grass. 
Cold  as  a  stone,  cold  is  my  heart,  alas ! 

But  two  gaunt  beasts  are  here. 

Not  meet  for  Thy  delight; 
Ox  of  my  appetites,  misspent  and  drear, 

[97] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Ass  of  my  folly  light, 
Hanging  their  heads,  Thy  courtiers  are  to- 
night. 

Not  like  those  innocent  things 
That  shook  the  bed  for  Thee ; 
Here  are  no  shepherd  men,  here  are  no  kings 
With  gifts  in  their  degree ; 
Cold,  bare,  and  empty,  yet  wilt  come  to  me  ? 

Cold  as  the  clay,  and  hard, 

Yet  wilt  Thou  come  as  of  yore  ? 
I  who  have  neither  gold  nor  spikenard. 
Thou  Hope  as  long  before ! 
For  Thee,  for  Thee,  the  stable  waits  once  more. 
Katharine  Tynan. 


The  Pedlar 

IT'S  Christmas  Eve,  and  the  dogs  are  a-cold. 
And  the  star's  in  the  sky  and  the  flock's 
in  the  fold. 

[98] 


^  GOD-REST  .  YOU  •  GENTLEMEN  ^ 

A  pedlar  came  to  the  homestead  gate 

With  his  pack  and  his  pike,  and  weary  was 
he; 

He  said,  ''See  wares  from  heaven  to  buy  you! 
Who  will  chaffer  his  heart  with  me?" 

It's  Christmas  Eve,  and  the  dogs  are  a-cold, 
And  the  star's  in  the  sky,  and  the  flock's  in  the 
fold. 

The  farmer  laughed:  'Tor  a  quittance  from 
hell 
Here's  all  I've  left  of  a  heart  for  ye !" 
Quoth  the  goodwife:     ''For  a  heavenly  man- 
sion 
Take,  and  you're  welcome,  my  heart  in  fee !" 

It's  Christmas  Eve,  and  the  dogs  are  a-cold, 
And  the  star's  in  the  sky,  and  the  flock's  in  the 
fold. 

The  younker  bought  him  a  kingly  crown, 
The  men  got  glory  in  bliss  to  be ; 

The  maids  chose  harps  and  golden  garments, 
Cried  "Good-e'en!"  and  "Good-by !"  said  he. 

[99] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  ^ 

It's  Christmas  Eve,  and  the  dogs  are  a-cold, 
And  the  star's  in  the  sky,  and  the  flock's  in  the 
fold. 

But  the  youngest  of  all  said  never  a  word, 
Her  hand  to  her  flaxen  head  held  she ; 

Till,  just  as  he  passed  the  door,  she  whispered, 
"Here's  my  heart,  as  a  gift  for  thee!" 

It's  Christmas  Eve,  and  the  dogs  are  a-cold, 
And  the  star's  in  the  sky,  and  the  flock's  in  the 
fold. 

It's  feasting  day,  and  the  feast's  in  heaven, 
And  there  are  our  folk,  all  fair  to  see. 

*'Have  they  left  no  room  for  My  own  little 
maiden  ? 
Come,  she  must  sit  on  the  throne  with  Me !" 

It's  Christmas  Eve,  and  the  dogs  are  a-cold. 
And  the  star's  in  the  sky,  and  the  lamb's  in  the 
fold! 

W.  G.  COLLINGWOOD. 


[lOO] 


^KEEP  .  TIME  .  WITH  •  JOYFUL  •  CHIME^ 


A    Christmas    Chime 

KEEP    time,    keep    time,    glad    Christmas 
chime ! 
Loud,  louder  sing  thy  song  subUme ; 
Ne'er  half  enough  can  e'er  be  told 
Of  that  dear  story,  sweet  and  old. 
Hark,  men  and  women — children,  too — 
List  to  the  wondrous  tale  anew, 
How  long  ago,  in  land  afar. 
The  shepherds  saw  the  shining  star ; 
Heard  echoed  strains  of  harp  and  lyre 
Attuned  to  thrill  of  angel  choir. 

Keep  time,  keep  time,  wild,  joyful  chime ! 
Bid  every  heart  keep  Christmas  time — 
Let  there  be  none  so  worn  and  weary, 
Let  there  be  none  so  lone  and  dreary, 
That  thy  rich  music  may  not  fill 
With  happiness  and  fond  good-will : 
With  just  a  bit  of  hope  and  cheer, 
A  firmer  trust  in  heaven  near, 
A  sense  of  sacred,  new-found  rest. 
That  Jesus  sleeps  on  Mary's  breast. 

[  lOI  ] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

Keep  time,  keep  time,  blest  Christmas  chime! 

Repeat  thy  message  true,  sublime, 

Unto  the  mighty,  to  the  lowly. 

Unto  the  sinner,  to  the  holy : 

Bid  them  live  on  in  gentle  peace. 

Their  strife  and  hatred  all  to  cease ; 

And  bid  them  come,  not,  as  of  old. 

With  frankincense,  myrrh,  gems  and  gold, 

But  with  the  nobler — love's  own  proffer — 

Unto  their  God  their  hearts  to  offer. 

Kathleen  Kavanagh. 


St.    Bride's   Lullaby 


o 


H,  Baby  Christ,  so  dear  to  me, 

Sang  Bridget  Bride : 
How  sweet  thou  art. 
My  baby  dear. 
Heart  of  my  heart ! 

Heavy  her  body  was  with  thee, 
Mary,  beloved  of  One  in  Three, 

Sang  Bridget  Bride — 
Mary,  who  bore  thee,  little  lad ; 

[  102] 


|X^  MY  .  BABE  .  IS  .  MY  .  KING  }^ 

But  light  her  heart  was,  hght  and  glad, 
With  God's  love  clad. 

Sit  on  my  knee. 

Sang  Bridget  Bride ; 
Sit  here, 
O  Baby  dear, 

Close  to  my  heart,  my  heart, 
For  I  thy  foster-mother  am, 
My  helpless  lamb ! 
Oh,  have  no  fear, 

Sang  good  St.  Bride. 

None,  none. 
No  fear  have  I ; 
So  let  me  cling 
Close  to  thy  side. 
While  thou  dost  sing, 
O  Bridget  Bride ! 

My  Lord,  my  Prince,  I  sing: 
My  Baby  dear,  my  King ! 
Sang  Bridget  Bride. 

Fiona  Macleod. 


[103] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  -  TREASURY  |X( 


Santa  Claus 

HE  comes  in  the  night!    He  comes  in  the 
night ! 
He  softly,  silently  comes, 
While  the  little  brown  heads  on  the  pillows  so 
white 
Are  dreaming  of  bugles  and  drums. 
He  cuts  through  the  snow  like  a  ship  through 
the  foam, 
While  the  white  flakes  around  him  whirl. 
Who  tells  him  I  know  not,  but  he  findeth  the 
home 
Of  each  good  little  boy  and  girl. 


His  sleigh  it  is  long,  and  deep,  and  wide ; 

It  will  carry  a  host  of  things, 
While  dozens  of  drums  hang  over  the  side, 

With  the  sticks  sticking  under  the  strings. 
And  yet  not  the  sound  of  a  drum  is  heard, 

Not  a  bugle  blast  is  blown, 
As  he  mounts  to  the  chimney-top  like  a  bird, 

And  drops  to  the  hearth  like  a  stone. 

[  104  ] 


^  THE  .  children's  •  FRIEND  ^ 

The  little  red  stockings  he  silently  fills, 

Till  the  stockings  will  hold  no  more ; 
The  bright  little  sleds  for  the  great  snow  hills 

Are  quickly  set  down  on  the  floor. 
Then  Santa  Claus  mounts  to  the  roof  like  a 
bird, 

And  glides  to  his  seat  in  the  sleigh ; 
Not  the  sound  of  a  bugle  or  drum  is  heard 

As  he  noiselessly  gallops  away. 


He  rides  to  the  East,  and  he  rides  to  the  West, 

Of  his  goodies  he  touches  not  one; 
He  eateth  the  crumbs  of  the  Christmas  feast 

When  the  dear  little  folks  are  done. 
Old  Santa  Claus  doeth  all  that  he  can ; 

This  beautiful  mission  is  his ; 
Then,  children,  be  good  to  the  little  old  man 

When  you  find  who  the  Httle  man  is. 

Anon. 


[105] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )X( 


A   Christmas   Greeting 

A  MERRY  Christmas  morning 
To  each  and  every  one ! 
The  rose  has  kissed  the  dawning, 
And  the  gold  is  in  the  sun. 


And  may  the  Christmas  splendor 

A  joyous  greeting  bear, 
Of  love  that's  true  and  tender 

And  faith  that's  sweet  and  fair. 

Author  Unknown. 


[io6] 


J 


^       BE  .  MERRY  •  WITH  .  GOOD-CHEER       ^ 


At  the  Sign  of  the  Jolly  Jack 

YOU  merry  folk,  be  of  good  cheer, 
For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year. 
From  open  door  you'll  take  no  harm 
By  winter  if  your  hearts  are  warm. 
So  ope  the  door,  and  hear  us  carol 
The  burthen  of  our  Christmas  moral. 
Be  ye  merry  and  make  good  cheer, 
For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year ; 
Scrape  the  fiddle  and  beat  the  drum, 
And  bury  the  night  ere  morning  come. 

57 — Christmas  (left  over  from  ist  batch  copy 

There  was  an  inn  beside  a  track, 

As  it  might  be,  the  Jolly  Jack ; 

Upon  a  night,  whate'er  its  name. 

There  kept  they  Christmas  all  the  same. 

They  sit  in  jovial  round  at  table. 

While  Christ  was  lying  in  the  stable. 

They  make  merry  and  have  good  cheer. 

For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year ; 

They  scrape  the  fiddle  and  beat  the  drum. 

And  they'll  bury  the  night  ere  morning 
come. 

[107] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  jolly  landlord  stands  him  up, 
And  welcomes  all  to  bite  and  sup ; 
He  has  a  hearty  face  and  red, 
He  knows  not  Who  lies  in  his  shed. 
What  harm,  if  he  be  honest  and  true, 
That  he  may  be  Christ's  landlord  too  ? 

So  he  makes  merry  and  has  good  cheer, 
For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year ; 
He  scrapes  his  fiddle  and  beats  his  drum, 
And  he'll  bury  the  night  ere  morning  come. 

The  landlord's  son  sits  in  his  place. 
He  bows  his  head  and  says  his  grace ; 
He  leads  his  partner  to  the  dance. 
And  the  light  of  love  is  in  his  glance. 
If  his  thoughts  are  handsome  as  his  face, 
What  matter  if  Christ  be  in  the  place  ? 

So  he  makes  merry  and  has  good  cheer. 
For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year ; 
He  scrapes  his  fiddle  and  beats  his  drum, 
And  he'll  bury  the  night  ere  morning  come. 

Of  all  the  folk  that  night,  I  ween, 
Some  were  honest  and  some  w^ere  mean ; 
If  all  were  honest,  'twas  well  for  all, 
For  Christ  was  sleeping  in  the  stall. 

[io8] 


^  CHRISTMAS  .  COMES  •  ONCE  •  A  .  YEAR^ 

But  never  may  Englishmen  so  fare 

That  they  at  Christmas  should  forbear — 

To  make  them  merry  and  have  good  cheer, 
For  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year ; 
To  scrape  the  fiddle  and  beat  the  drum, 
And  bury  the  night  ere  morning  come. 

Geoffrey  Smith. 


[109] 


THE    CHRISTMAS    OF    THE    SOUL 


ALL  after  pleasures  as  I  rid  one  day, 
My  horse  and  I,  both  tired,  body  and  mind, 
With  full  cry  of  affections,  quite  astray, 
I  took  up  in  the  next  inn  I  could  find. 

There,  when  I  came,  Whom  found  I  but  my  dear, 
My  dearest  Lord ;  expecting  till  the  grief 

Of  pleasures  brought  me  to  Him;  ready  there 
To  be  all  passengers'  most  sweet  relief? 

O  Thou,  Whose  glorious  yet  contracted  light, 
Wrapt  in  Night's  mantle,  stole  into  a  manger; 

Since  my  dark  soul  and  brutish,  is  Thy  right — 
To  man,  of  all  beasts,  be  not  Thou  a  stranger: 

Furnish  and  deck  my  soul,  that  Thou  may'st  have 
A  better  lodging  than  a  rack  or  grave. 

George  Herbert. 


[Ill] 


I 

1 


^  DECK  .  MY  .  SOUL  •  O  •  LORD  ^ 


Christmas 

ALL  after  pleasures  as  I  rid  one  day, 
My  horse  and  I  both  tired,  body  and 
mind, 
With  full  cry  of  affections  quite  astray, 
I  took  up  in  the  next  inn  I  could  find. 

There,  when  I  came,  Whom  found  I  but  my 
dear, 

My  dearest  Lord;  expecting  till  the  grief 
Of  pleasures  brought  me  to  Him ;  ready  there 

To  be  of  all  passengers'  most  sweet  relief? 

O  Thou,  Whose  glorious,  yet  contracted,  light, 

Wrapt    in    Night's    mantle,    stole    into    a 

manger ; 

Since  my  dark  soul  and  brutish — is  Thy  right, 

To   Man,    of    all   beasts,    be    not   Thou    a 

stranger : 

Furnish  and  deck  my  soul,  that  Thou  may'st 

have 
A  better  lodging  than  a  rack  or  grave. 

[113] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X( 

The  shepherds  sing ;  and  shall  I  silent  be  ? 

My  God,  no  hymn  for  Thee? 
My  soul's  a  shepherd  too :  a  flock  it  feeds 

Of  thoughts  and  words  and  deeds. 
The  pasture  is  Thy  word,  the  streams  Thy 
grace, 

Enriching  every  place. 

Shepherds  and  flock  shall  sing,  and  all  my 
powers 
Ousting  the  daylight  hours. 

Then  we  will  chide  the  sun  for  letting  night 

Take  up  his  place  and  right: 
We   sing  one   common   Lord;   wherefore  he 
should 

Himself  the  candle  hold. 


I  will  go  searching  till  I  find  a  sun 

Shall  stay  till  we  have  done; 
A  willing  shiner,  that  shall  shine  as  gladly 

As  frost-nipt  suns  look  sadly. 
Then  we  will  sing  and  shine  all  our  own  day, 

And  one  another  pay. 

[114] 


i 


^  AWAKE  .  GLAD  •  HEART  |^ 

His  beams  shall  cheer  my  breast,  and  both  so 

twine, 
Till  ev'n  His  beams  sing  and  my  music  shine. 

George  Herbert. 


Christ's  Nativity 

AWAKE,  glad  heart !  get  up  and  sing ! 
It  is  the  Birthday  of  thy  King. 
Awake !  awake ! 
The  sun  doth  shake 
Light  from  his  locks,  and,  all  the  way 
Breathing  perfumes,  doth  spice  the  day. 

Awake !  awake !  hark  how  th'  wood  rings, 
Winds  whisper,  and  the  busy  springs 

A  concert  make ! 

Awake !  awake ! 
Man  is  their  high-priest,  and  should  rise 
To  offer  up  the  sacrifice. 

I  would  I  were  a  bird  or  star, 
Fluttering  in  woods,  or  lifted  far 

Above  this  inn 

And  road  of  sin  ! 

[115] 


}fZ^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Then  either  bird  or  star  should  be 
Shining  or  singing  still  to  Thee. 

I  would  I  had  in  my  best  part 

Fit  rooms  for  Thee !  or  that  my  heart 

Were  so  clean  as 

Thy  manger  was ! 

But  I  am  all  filth,  and  obscene : 

Yet  if  thou  wilt,  Thou  canst  make  clean. 

Sweet  Jesu !  will  then.     Let  no  more 
This  leper  haunt  and  soil  Thy  door ! 

Cure  him,  ease  him, 

O  release  him ! 
And  let  once  more,  by  mystic  birth, 
The  Lord  of  life  be  born  in  earth. 

Henry  Vaughan. 


The  Nativity 

PEACE !  and  to  all  the  world !    Sure  One, 
And  he  the  Prince  of  Peace,  hath  none ! 
He  travails  to  be  born,  and  then 
Is  born  to  travail  more  again. 

[ii6] 


^        THE  .  LORD  .  OF  •  LIFE  •  IS  •  BORN        |^ 

Poor  Galilee,  thou  canst  not  be 
The  place  for  His  nativity. 
His  restless  mother's  called  away, 
And  not  delivered  till  she  pay. 


A  tax?    Tis  so  still.    We  can  see 
The  Church  thrive  in  her  misery, 
And,  like  her  head  at  Bethlehem,  rise, 
When  she,  oppressed  with  troubles,  lyes. 
Rise!     Should  all  fail,  we  cannot  be 
In  more  extremities  than  He. 
Great  Type  of  passions !  come  what  will, 
Thy  grief  exceeds  all  copies  still ; 
Thou  cam'st  from  heaven  to  earth,  that  we 
Might  go  from  earth  to  heaven  with  Thee ; 
And  though  Thou  found'st  no  welcome  here, 
Thou  didst  provide  no  mansions  there. 
A  stable  was  Thy  court,  and  when 
Men  turned  to  beasts,  beasts  would  be  men; 
They  were  Thy  courtiers  ;  others  none ; 
And  their  poor  manger  was  Thy  throne. 
No  swaddling  silks  Thy  limbs  did  fold, 
Though  Thou  couldst  turn  Thy  rags  to  gold. 
No  rockers  waited  on  Thy  birth, 
No  cradles  stirred,  nor  songs  of  mirth ; 

[117] 


^ 


THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY 


^ 


But  her  chaste  lap  and  sacred  breast. 
Which  lodged  Thee  first^  did  give  Thee  rest. 

But  stay !    What  light  is  that  doth  stream 
And  drop  here  in  a  gilded  beam? 
It  is  Thy  star  runs  page,  and  brings 
Thy  tributary  Eastern  Kings. 
Lord!  grant  some  light  to  us,  that  we 
May  find  with  them  the  way  to  Thee ! 
Behold  what  mists  eclipse  the  day! 
How  dark  it  is !    Shed  down  one  ray 
To  guide  us  out  of  this  dark  night. 
And  say  once  more,  '*Let  there  be  light!" 

Henry  Vaughan. 
(''Thalia  Rediviva/') 


[ii8] 


^  LET  •  THERE  •  BE  •  LIGHT  ^ 


The  Burning  Babe 

AS  I  in  hoary  winter's  night  stood  shivering 
in  the  snow, 
Surprised  I  was  with  sudden  heat  which  made 

my  heart  to  glow ; 
And  Hfting  up  a  fearful  eye  to  view  what  fire 

was  near, 
A  pretty  Babe,  all  burning  bright,  did  in  the 

air  appear, 
Who,    scorched    with    exceeding    heat,    such 

floods  of  tears  did  shed, 
As  though  His  floods  should  quench  His  flames 

with  what  His  tears  were  fed. 
"Alas,"  quoth  He,  ''but  newly  born  in  fiery 

heats  to  fry. 
Yet  none  approach  to  warm  their  hearts  or  feel 

my  fire  but  I. 
My  faultless  breast  the   furnace  is,  the  fuel 

wounding  thorns. 
Love  is  the  fire,  and  sighs  the  smoke,  the  ashes 

shame  and  scorns ; 

[119] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  fuel  Justice  layeth  on,  and  Mercy  blows 

the  coals ; 
The  metal  in  this  furnace  wrought  are  men's 

defiled  souls ; 
For  which,  as  now  on  fire  I  am,  to  work  them 

to  their  good, 
So  w^ill  I  melt  into  a  bath,  to  wash  them  in  my 

blood." 

With  this  He  vanished  out  of  sight,  and  swiftly 

shrank  away. 
And  straight  I  called  unto  mind  that  it  was 

Christmas  Day. 

Robert  Southwell. 


Who  Can  Forget? 

WHO  can  forget — never  to  be  forgot — 
The  time,  that  all  the  world  in  slumber 
lies, 
Wlien,  like  the  stars,  the  singing  angels  shot 
To  earth,  and  heaven  awaked  all  his  eyes 
To  see  another  sun  at  midnight  rise 

[120] 


^         THE  .  LIGHT  •  OF  •  THE  •  WORLD        ^ 

On   earth?     Was   never   sight   of  pareil 
fame, 

For   God   before   man   Hke    Himself   did 
frame, 
But  God  Himself  now  like  a  mortal  man  be- 
came. 

A  Child  He  was,  and  had  not  learnt  to  speak, 
That   with   His    word   the   world   before    did 

make; 
His  mother's  arms  Him  bore,  He  was  so  weak, 
That  with  one  hand  the  vaults  of  heaven  could 

shake ; 
See  how  small  room  my  infant  Lord  doth  take, 
Whom  all   the   world   is   not   enough   to 

hold! 
Who  of  His  years  or  of  His  age  hath 

told? 
Never  such  age  so  young,  never  a  child  so  old. 

And  yet  but  newly  He  was  infanted. 
And  yet  already  He  was  sought  to  die ; 
Yet  scarcely  born,  already  banished; 
Not  able  yet  to  go,  and  forced  to  fly ; 
But  scarcely  fled  away,  when,  by  and  by, 

[121] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )^ 

The    tyrant's    sword    with    blood    is    all 

defiled, 
And  Rachel,  for  her  sons  with  fury  wild. 
Cries,  *'0  thou  cruel  king,  and  O  my  sweetest 

child!" 


Egypt  His  nurse  became,  where  Nilus  springs, 
Who,  straight  to  entertain  the  rising  sun. 
The  hasty  harvest  in  his  bosom  brings ; 
But  now  for  drought  the  fields  were  all  un- 
done, 
And  now  with  waters  all  is  overrun; 

So  fast  the   Cynthian  mountains   pour'd 

their  snow, 
When  once  they  felt  the  sun  so  near  them 
glow. 
That  Nilus  Egypt  lost,  and  to  a  sea  did  grow. 


The  angels  carolled  loud  their  ^ong  of  peace, 

The  cursed  oracles  were  stricken  dumb ; 

To    see   their    Shepherd   the    poor    shepherds 

press ; 
To  see  their  King  the  kingly  sophies  come ; 
And  them  to  guide  unto  his  ^Master's  home, 

[122] 


^  CHRIST  .  IS  .  BORX  .  TO-DAY  ^ 

A  star  comes  dancing  up  the  orient, 
That  springs  for  joy  over  the  strawy  tent, 
Where  gold,  to  make  their  Prince  a  crown, 
they  all  present. 

Giles  Fletcher. 


A  Hymn  of  the  Nativity 

Chorus. 

COME  we  shepherds  whose  blest  sight 
Hath  met    Love's    noon    in    Nature's 
night ; 
Come,  lift  we  up  our  loftier  song, 
And  wake  the  sun  that  lies  too  long. 

To  all  our  world  of  well  stol'n  joy, 
He  slept  and  dreamt  of  no  such  thing, 

While  we  found  out  heaven^s  fairer  eye 
And  kist  the  cradle  of  our  King; 

Tell  him  he  rises  now  too  late 

To  show  us  ought  worth  looking  at. 

Tell  him  we  now  can  show  him  more 
Than  e'er  he  showed  to  mortal  sight, 

[123] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Than  he  himself  e'er  saw  before, 

Which  to  be  seen  needs  not  his  light. 
Tell  him,  Thyrsis,  where  th'  hast  been. 
Tell  him,  Thyrsis,  what  th'  hast  seen. 

Tit.     Gloomy  night  embraced  the  place 

Where  the  noble  Infant  lay ; 
The  Babe  looked  up  and  showed  His  face — 

In  spite  of  darkness  it  was  day. 
It  was  Thy  day,  Sweet,  and  did  rise. 
Not  from  the  East,  but  from  Thine  eyes. 

Chorus. — It  was  thy  day,  Sweet,  etc. 

Thyrs.     Winter  chid  aloud,  and  sent 
The  angry  North  to  wage  his  wars, 

The  North  forgot  his  fierce  intent. 
And  left  perfumes  instead  of  scars ; 

By  those  sweet  eyes'  persuasive  powers. 

Where  he  meant  frost  he  scattered  flowers. 

Chorus. — By  those  sweet  eyes,  etc. 

Both.     We  saw  Thee  in  Thy  balmy  nest, 
Bright  dawn  of  our  eternal  day ! 

We  saw  Thine  eyes  break  from  their  East 
And  chase  the  trembling  shades  away ; 

[124] 


^         CHRIST  .  THE  •  LORD  •  OF  •  LOVE         ^ 

We  saw  Thee,  and  we  blest  the  sight ; 
We  saw  Thee  by  Thine  own  sweet  light. 

Tit.     Poor  world  (said  I),  what  wilt  thou  do 
To  entertain  this  starry  Stranger? 

Is  this  the  best  thou  canst  bestow — 
A  cold  and  not  too  cleanly  manger? 

Contend,  ye  powers  of  heaven  and  earth, 

To  fit  a  bed  for  this  huge  birth. 

Chorus. — Contend,  ye  powers,  etc. 

Thyrs.     Proud   world    (said   I),   cease  your 
contest, 

And  let  the  mighty  Babe  alone ; 
The  Phoenix  builds  the  Phoenix'  nest; 

Love's  architecture  is  all  one. 
The  Babe  whose  birth  embraves  this  morn 
Made  His  own  bed  ere  He  was  born. 

Chorus. — The  Babe  whose  birth,  etc. 

Tit.     I  saw  the  curl'd  drops,  soft  and  slow, 
Come  hovering  o'er  the  place's  head. 

Offering  their  whitest  sheets  of  snow 
To  furnish  the  fair  Infant's  bed. 

[125] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Forbear  (said  I),  be  not  too  bold; 
Your  fleece  is  white,  but  'tis  too  cold. 

Chorus. — Forbear  (said  I),  etc. 

Thyrs.  I  saw  the  obsequious  seraphins 
Their  rosy  fleece  of  fire  bestow, 

For  well  they  now  can  spare  their  wings, 
Since  heaven  itself  lies  here  below. 

Well  done  (said  I),  but  are  you  sure 

Your  down  so  warm  will  pass  for  pure  ? 

Chorus. — Well  done  (said  I),  etc. 

Tit,  No,  no,  your  King's  not  yet  to  seek 
Where  to  repose  His  royal  head. 

See,  see,  how  soon  His  new-bloom'd  cheek 
'Twixt  mother's  breasts  is  gone  to  bed. 

Sweet  choice  (said  I),  no  way  but  so, 

Not  to  lie  cold,  yet  sleep  in  snow. 

Chorus, — Sweet  choice  (said  I),  etc. 

Both.     We  saw  Thee  in  Thy  balmy  nest, 
Bright  dawn  of  our  eternal  day ! 

We  saw  Thine  eyes  break  from  their  East 
And  chase  the  trembling  shades  away ; 

[126] 


^  ECCE  .  HOMO  !  ^ 

We  saw  Thee,  and  we  blest  the  sight, 
We  saw  Thee  by  Thine  own  sweet  Hght. 

Chorus. — We  saw  Thee,  etc. 

Full   Chorus. — Welcome   all    wonder    in   one 
sight, 

Eternity  shut  in  a  span. 
Summer  in  winter,  day  in  night. 

Heaven  in  earth  and  God  in  man ! 
Great  little  One !  whose  all-embracing  birth 
Lifts  earth  to  heaven,  stoops  heaven  to  earth, 

Welcome,  though  not  to  gold  nor  silk, 
To  more  than  Csesar's  birthright  is : 

Two  sister  seas  of  virgin  milk, 

With  many   a  rarely-tempered  kiss, 

That  breathes  at  once  both  maid  and  mother, 

Warms  in  the  one  and  cools  in  the  other. 

She  sings  Thy  tears  asleep  and  dips 
Her  kisses  in  Thy  weeping  eye; 

She  spreads  the  red  leaves  of  Thy  lips 
That  in  their  buds  yet  blushing  lie; 

She  'gainst  those  mother-diamonds  tries 

The  points  of  her  young  eagle's  eyes. 

[127] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Welcome,  though  not  to  those  gay  flies 
Gilded  i'  the  beams  of  earthly  kings, 

Slippery  souls  in  smiling  eyes. 

But  to  poor  shepherds'  homespun  things ; 

Whose  wealth's  their  flock,  whose  wit  to  be 

Well  read  in  their  simplicity. 

Yet  when  young  April's  husband-showers 
Shall  bless  the  fruitful  Maia's  bed, 

We'll  bring  the  first-born  of  her  flowers 
To  kiss  Thy  feet  and  crown  Thy  head : 

To  Thee,  dread  Lamb,  whose  love  must  keep 

The  shepherds  more  than  they  their  sheep. 

To  Thee,  meek  Majesty!  soft  King 
Of  simple  graces  and  sweet  loves. 

Each  of  us  his  lamb  will  bring, 
Each  his  pair  of  silver  doves, 

Till  burnt  at  last  in  fire  of  Thy  fair  eyes, 

Ourselves  become  our  own  best  sacrifice. 

Richard  Crashaw. 


[128] 


^  GLORY  .  TO  .  GOD  •  ON  .  HIGH  ^ 


The  Shepherds  Went  Their  Hasty  Way 

THE  shepherds  went  their  hasty  way, 
And  found  the  lowly  stable-shed 
Where  the  Virgin-Mother  lay ; 

And  now  they  checked  their  eager  tread, 
For  to  the  Babe  that  at  her  bosom  clung, 
A  mother's  song  the  Virgin-Mother  sung. 

They  told  her  how  a  glorious  light, 
Streaming  from  a  heavenly  throng. 

Around  them  shone,  suspending  night ! 
While  sweeter  than  a  mother's  song. 

Blest  angels  heralded  the  Savior's  birth, 

Glory  to  God  on  high !  and  peace  on  earth ! 

She  listened  to  the  tale  divine. 
And  closer  still  the  Babe  she  prest : 

And  while  she  cried,  'The  Babe  is  mine !" 
The  milk  rushed  faster  to  her  breast : 

Joy  rose  within  her  like  a  summer's  morn ; 

Peace,  peace  on  earth !  the  Prince  of  Peace  is 
born. 

Thou  Mother  of  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
Poor,  simple,  and  of  low  estate ! 

[  129  ] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

That  strife  should  vanish,  battle  cease, 

O  why  should  this  thy  soul  elate  ? 
Sweet  music's  loudest  note,  the  poet's  story, — 
Didst  thou  never  love  to  hear  of  fame  and 
glory  ? 

And  is  not  War  a  youthful  king,  * 

A  stately  hero  clad  in  mail  ? 
Beneath  his  footsteps  laurels  spring ; 

Him  earth's  majestic  monarchs  hail 
Their   friend,   their   playmate !   and   his   bold, 

bright  eye 
Compels  the  maiden's  love-confessing  sigh. 

"Tell  this  in  some  more  courtly  scene, 
To  maids  and  youths  in  robes  of  state ! 

I  am  a  woman  poor  and  mean, 
And  therefore  is  my  soul  elate  : 

War  is  a  ruffian  all  with  guilt  defiled, 

That  from  the  aged  father  tears  his  child. 

*'A  murderous  fiend  by  fiends  adored, 
He  kills  the  sire  and  starves  the  son ; 

The  husband  kills,  and  from  her  board 
Steals  all  his  widow's  toil  had  won ; 

[130] 


|X^     CHRIST  .  THE  •  PRIXCE  •  OF  .  PEACE    ^ 

Plunders  God's  world  of  beauty;  rends  away 
All  safety  from  the  night,  all  comfort  from  the 
day. 

*'Then  widely  is  my  soul  elate, 

That  strife  should  vanish,  battle  cease ; 
Tm  poor  and  of  a  low  estate. 

The  Mother  of  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
Joy  rises  in  me,  like  a  summer's  morn : 
Peace,  peace  on  earth !  the  Prince  of  Peace  is 
born !" 

Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 


The   Mystic's  Christmas 

**   A   LL  hail  !'^  the  bells  of  Christmas  rang, 
r\       ''All  hail!''  the  monks  at  Christmas 
sang, 
The  merry  monks  who  kept  with  cheer 
The  gladdest  day  of  all  their  year. 

But  still  apart,  unmoved  thereat, 
A  pious  elder  brother  sat 
Silent,  in  his  accustomed  place, 
With  God's  sweet  peace  upon  his  face. 

[131] 


|Z(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )^ 

''Why  sitt'st  thou  thus?"  his  brethren  cried. 
*'It  is  the  blessed  Christmas-tide; 
The  Christmas  hghts  are  all  aglow, 
The  sacred  lilies  bud  and  blow. 

''Above  our  heads  the  joy-bells  ring, 
Without  the  happy  children  sing, 
And  all  God's  creatures  hail  the  morn 
On  which  the  holy  Christ  was  born ! 

''Rejoice  with  us ;  no  more  rebuke 

Our  gladness  with  thy  quiet  look.'' 

The  gray  monk  answered :    "Keep,  I  pray, 

Even  as  ye  list,  the  Lord's  birthday. 

"Let  heathen  Yule  fires  flicker  red 
Where  thronged  refectory  feasts  are  spread ; 
With  mystery-play  and  masque  and  mime 
And  wait-songs  speed  the  holy  time ! 

"The  blindest  faith  may  haply  save ; 
The  Lord  accepts  the  things  we  have ; 
And  reverence,  howsoe'er  it  strays, 
May  find  at  last  the  shining  ways. 

[132] 


^    CHRIST. THE. WORD. AND. THE. LIFE   |X^ 

*'They  needs  must  grope  who  cannot  see, 

The  blade  before  the  ear  must  be ; 

As  ye  are  feeHng  I  have  felt, 

And  where  ye  dwell  I  too  have  dwelt. 

"But  now,  beyond  the  things  of  sense. 
Beyond  occasions  and  events, 
I  know,  through  God's  exceeding  grace, 
Release  from  form  and  time  and  place. 

*'I  listen,  from  no  mortal  tongue. 
To  hear  the  song  the  angels  sung ; 
And  wait  within  myself  to  know 
The  Christmas  lilies  bud  and  blow. 

'The  outward  symbols  disappear 
From  him  whose  inward  sight  is  clear ; 
And  small  must  be  the  choice  of  days 
To  him  who  fills  them  all  with  praise ! 

''Keep  while  you  need  it,  brothers  mine, 
With  honest  zeal  your  Christmas  sign. 
But  judge  not  him  who  every  morn 
Feels  in  his  heart  the  Lord  Christ  born !'' 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A   Christmas   Antiphone 

THOU  whose  birth  on  earth 
Angels  sang  to  men, 
While  Thy  stars  made  mirth, 
Savior,  at  Thy  birth, 
This  day  born  again. 

As  this  night  was  bright 
With  Thy  cradle-ray, 
Very  light  of  light. 
Turn  the  wild  world's  night 
To  Thy  perfect  day. 

God  whose  feet  made  sweet 

Those  wild  w^ays  they  trod, 
From  thy  fragrant  feet, 
Staining  field  and  street 
With  the  blood  of  God ; 

God  whose  breast  is  rest 
In  time  of  strife, 
In  Thy  secret  breast 
Sheltering  souls  opprest 
From  the  heat  of  life ; 

[134] 


^       ONWARD  .  CHRISTIAN  •  SOLDIERS       ^ 

God  whose  eyes  are  skies, 

Love-lit  as  with  spheres 
By  the  lights  that  rise 
To  Thy  watching  eyes, 

Orbe  lights  of  tears ; 


God  whose  heart  hath  part 

In  all  grief  that  is, 
Was  not  man's  the  dart 
That  went  through  Thine  heart, 

And  the  wound  not  his? 


Where  the  pale  souls  wail, 
Held  in  bonds  of  death, 
Where  all  spirits  quail. 
Came  Thy  Godhead  pale 
Still  from  human  breath — 


Pale  from  life  and  strife, 

Wan  with  manhood,  came 
Forth  of  mortal  life, 
Pierced  as  with  a  knife, 
Scarred  as  with  a  flame. 

[135] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )I^ 

Thou  the  Word  and  Lord 

In  all  time  and  space 
Heard,  beheld,  adored, 
With  all  ages  poured 

Forth  before  Thy  face. 


Lord,  what  worth  in  earth 
Drew  Thee  down  to  die? 
What  therein  was  worth, 
Lord,  Thy  death  and  birth  ? 
What  beneath  Thy  sky? 


Light  above  all  love 

By  Thy  love  was  lit. 
And  brought  down  the  Dove, 
Feathered  from  above 
With  the  wings  of  it. 


From  the  height  of  night, 
Was  not  Thine  the  star 
That  led  forth  with  might, 
By  no  worldly  light. 
Wise  men  from  afar? 

[136] 


)^       FOREVER  .  DEAR  .  FOREVER  .  KIND   ^ 

Yet  the  wise  men's  eyes 
Saw  Thee  not  more  clear 

Than  they  saw  Thee  rise, 

Who  in  shepherd's  guise 
Drew  as  poor  men  near. 


Yet  thy  poor  endure, 

And  are  with  us  yet; 
Be  Thy  name  a  sure 
Refuge  for  Thy  poor 
Whom  men's  eyes  forget. 


Thou  whose  ways  we  praise. 

Clear  alike  and  dark, 
Keep  our  works  and  ways, 
This,  and  all  Thy  days, 
Safe  inside  Thine  ark. 


Who  shall  keep  Thy  sheep. 

Lord,  and  lose  not  one? 

Who,  save  one,  shall  keep. 

Lest  the  shepherds  sleep? 

Who  beside  the  Son? 

[137] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

From  the  grave-deep  wave, 
From  the  sword  and  flame, 

Thou,  even  Thou,  shall  save 

Souls  of  king  and  slave 
Only  by  Thy  Name. 

Light  not  born  with  morn, 

Or  her  fires  above, 
Jesus,  virgin-born. 
Held  of  men  in  scorn, 

Turn  their  scorn  to  love. 


Thou  whose  face  gives  grace 

As  the  sun's  doth  heat, 
Let  Thy  sunbright  face 
Lighten  time  and  space 

Here  beneath  Thy  feet. 

Bid  our  peace  increase, 

Thou  that  madest  morn ; 
Bid  oppressions  cease, 
Bid  the  night  be  peace, 

Bid  the  day  be  born. 

Algernon  Charles  Swinburne. 

[138] 


^  HEAVENLY  .  HOPE  •  SERENE  ^ 


A   Hope  Carol 

ANIGHT  was  near,  a  day  was  near ; 
Between  a  day  and  night 
I  heard  sweet  voices  caUing  clear, 

CalHng  me ; 
I  heard  a  whirr  of  wing  on  wing, 

But  could  not  see  the  sight ; 
I  long  to  see  the  birds  that  sing, 
I  long  to  see. 

Below  the  stars,  beyond  the  moon, 

Between  the  night  and  day, 
I  heard  a  rising,  falling  tune 

Calling  me ; 
I  long  to  see  the  pipes  and  strings 

Whereon  such  minstrels  play; 
I  long  to  see  each  face  that  sings, 
I  long  to  see. 

To-day,  or  maybe  not  to-day. 

To-night  or  not  to-night, 
All  voices  that  command  or  pray. 
Calling  me, 

[139] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Shall  kindle  in  my  soul  such  fire, 

And  in  my  eyes  such  light, 
That  I  shall  see  that  heart's  desire 
I  long  to  see. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 


Christmas  Eve  at  St.   Kavin's 

TO  the  assembled  folk 
At  Great  S.  Kavin's  spoke 
Young  Brother  Amiel  on  Christmas  Eve : 
I  give  you  joy,  my  friends, 
That  as  the  round  year  ends 
We  meet  once  more   for  gladness  by  God*s 
leave. 

On  other  festal  days. 

For  penitence  or  praise 
Or  prayer  we  meet,  or  fullness  of  thanksgiv- 
ing; 

To-night  we  calendar 

The  rising  of  that  star 
Which  lit  the  old  w^orld  with  new  joy  of  living. 

[140] 


1^  GOD  .  IS  .  LOVE  .  INDEED  }^ 

Ah,  we  disparage  still 

The  Tidings  of  Good-will, 
Discrediting  Love's  gospel  now  as  then! 

And  with  the  verbal  creed 

That  God  is  love  indeed, 
Who  dares  make  Love  his  god  before  all  men? 

Shall  we  not,  therefore,  friends, 

Resolve  to  make  amends 
To  that  glad  inspiration  of  the  heart ; 

To  grudge  not,  to  cast  out 

Selfishness,  malice,  doubt. 
Anger  and  fear ;  and  for  the  better  part, 

To  love  so  much,  so  well. 

The  spirit  cannot  tell 
The  range  and  sweep  of  her  own  boundary? 

There  is  no  period 

Between  the  soul  and  God : 
Love  is  the  tide,  God  the  eternal  sea. 


To-day  we  walk  by  love ; 
To  strive  is  not  enough. 
Save  against  greed  and  ignorance  and  might. 

[141] 


|Ji(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

We  apprehend  peace  comes 
Not  with  the  roll  of  drums, 
But  in  the  still  processions  of  the  night. 

And  we  perceive,  not  awe 

But  love  is  the  great  law 
That  binds  the  world  together  safe  and  whole. 

The  splendid  planets  run 

Their  courses  in  the  sun ; 
Love  is  the  gravitation  of  the  soul. 

Love  only,  one  or  all ! 

Measure  no  great  and  small ! 
Love  is  a  seed,  life-bearing,  undecayed; 

And  that  immortal  germ 

Past  bounds  of  zone  and  term 
Will  grow,  and  cover  the  whole  world  with 
shade. 

Sow  love ;  it  cannot  fail. 

Adversity's  sharp  hail 
May  cut  all  else  to  ground ;  fair  love  survives. 

The  black  frost  of  despair 

And  slander's  bitter  air — 
Love  will  outlast  them  by  a  thousand  lives. 

[142] 


^  FULFIL  .  love's  •  WAY  ^ 

Be  body,  mind  and  soul 

Subject  to  love's  control, 
Each  loving  to  the  limit  of  love's  power ; 

And  all  as  one,  not  three, 

So  is  man's  trinity 
Enhanced  and  freed  and  gladdened  hour  by 
hour. 

Beauty  from  youth  to  age, 

The  body's  heritage. 
Love  will  not  forfeit  by  neglect  nor  shame ; 

And  knowledge,  dearly  bought, 

Love  will  account  as  naught. 
Unless  it  serve  soul's  need  and  body's  claim. 

Let  soul  desire,  mind  ask, 

And  body  crave  ;  our  task 
Be  to  fulfil  each  want  in  love's  own  way. 

So  shall  the  good  and  true 

Partake  of  beauty,  too. 
And  life  be  helped  and  greatened  day  by  day. 

Spend  love^  and  save  it  not; 
In  act,  in  wish,  in  thought, 
Spend  love  upon  this  lifetime  without  stint. 

[143] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Let  not  the  heart  grow  dry, 
As  the  good  hours  go  by ; 
Love  now,  see  earth  take  on  the  glory  tint. 

Open  the  door  to-night 

Within  your  heart,  and  Hght 
The  lantern  of  love,  there  to  shine  afar; 

On  a  tumultuous  sea 

Some  straining  craft,  maybe. 
With  bearings  lost,  shall  sight  love's  silver  star. 

Bliss  Carman. 


A  Meditation  for  Christmas   Day 

CONSIDER, O  my  soul, what  morn  is  this! 
Whereon  the  eternal  Lord  of  all  things 
made 
For  us,  poor  mortals,  and  our  endless  bliss, 
Came  down  from  heaven ;  and,  in  a  manger 

laid. 
The  first,  rich  offerings  of  our  ransom  paid. 
Consider,  O  my  soul,  what  morn  is  this ! 

Consider  what  estate  of  fearful  woe 

Had  then  been  ours  had  He  refused  this 
birth ; 

[144] 


^  O  .  MY  .  SOUL  .  CONSIDER  ^ 

From  sin  to  sin  tossed  vainly  to  and  fro, 
Hell's  playthings,  o'er  a  doomed  and  helpl-ess 

earth ! 
Had   He   from   us   withheld   His   priceless 
worth. 
Consider  man's  estate  of  fearful  woe ! 

Consider  to  what  joys  He  bids  thee  rise, 
Who  comes,   Himself,   life's  bitter   cup   to 
drain ! 
Ah !  look  on  this  sweet  Child,  whose  innocent 
eyes, 
Ere  all  be  done,  shall  close  in  mortal  pain, 
That  thou  at  last  Love's  Kingdom  may'st 
attain : 
Consider  to  what  joys  He  bids  thee  rise ! 

Consider  all  this  wonder,  O  my  soul : 

And    in   thine    inmost    shrine   make   music 
sweet ! 

Yea,  let  the  world,  from  furthest  pole  to  pole. 
Join  in  thy  praises  this  dread  birth  to  greet ! 
Kneeling  to  kiss  thy  Savior's  infant  feet! 

Consider  all  this  wonder,  O  my  soul ! 

Selwyn  Image. 

[145] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

A  Morning  Song  for  Christmas  Day 

{For  Music.) 

1.  Wake,  what  unusual  light  doth  greet 
The  early  dusk  of  this  our  street? 

2.  It  is  the  Lord !  it  is  the  Christ ! 
That  hath  the  will  of  God  sufficed ; 
That,  ere  the  day  is  born  anew, 
Himself  is  born  a  Child  for  you. 

Chorus. 

The  harp,  the  viol,  and  the  lute. 
To  strike  a  praise  unto  our  God ! 

Bring  here  the  reeds !  bring  here  the  flute ! 
Wake  summer  from  the  winter's  sod ! 

Oh,  what  a  feast  of  feasts  is  given 

To   His    poor   servants   by   the   King   of 
Heaven ! 

3.  Where  is  the  Lord? 

2.  Here  is  the  Lord, 

At  thine  own  door.    'Tis  He,  the  Word ; 
He  at  whose  face  the  eternal  speed 
Of  orb  on  orb  was  changed  to  song. 

[146] 


^     CHRIST. IS. THE. LIGHT. OF. LIGHT     ^ 

Shall  He  the  sound  of  viols  heed 
Whose  ears  have  heard  so  high  a  throng? 
Shall  He  regard  the  citherns  strung 
To  whom  the  morning  stars  have  sung  ? 

Chorus, 

Then    wake,    my    heart,    and    sweep    the 

strings, 
The  seven  in  the  Lyre  of  Life ! 
Instead  of  lutes,  the  spirit  sings ; 

With  praise  its  quiet  house  is  rife ! 
Oh,  what  a  feast  of  feasts  is  given 
To   His   poor    servants    by   the    King   of 
Heaven ! 

4.     Who  is  the  Lord  ? 

2.  He  is  the  Lord, 
That  Light  of  light,  that  Chief  of  all ! 

3.  Who  is  the  Lord? 

2.  He  is  the  Lord, 

An  outcast  lying  in  a  stall ; 
For  in  the  inn  no  room  is  left, 
While  the  unworthy  feast  instead, 
He  of  all  welcome  is  bereft. 
And  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head. 

[147] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

1.  What  fitter  place  could  I  prepare, 
What  better  cradle,  say,  is  there 
Than  this,  my  heart,  if  that  were  fair? 

2.  Thou  hast  divined !    A  nobler  part 
In  man  or  angel,  or  of  earth,  or  skies, 
There  is  not,  than  a  broken  heart; 
The  which  thy  God  may  ne'er  despise. 

THE  HYMN. 

Chorus. 

Lord,  in  my  heart  a  little  child, 
Now  that  the  snows  beat  far  and  wide 
While  ever  wails  the  tempest  wild, 

Good  Lord  abide. 
Nor  go  Thou  if  the  summer  comes. 
Nor  if  the  summer  days  depart  ; 
But  chiefly  make  Thy  home  of  homes, 

Lord,  in  my  heart. 

Herbert  P.  Horne. 


[148] 


THE  CHRISTMAS  OF  THE  WANDERER 


For  All  Poor  Souls. 

FOR  all  poor  souls  we'll  strew  the  feast. 
With  kindly  heart  and  free; 
One  Father  owns  us,  and  at  least 
To-day  we'll  brothers  be. 
Away  with  pride 
This  holy  tide, 
For  it  is  Christmas  morning ! 

So  God  bless  us  one  and  all, 

With  hearts  and  hearthstones  warm, 
And  may  He  prosper  great  and  small, 
And  keep  us  out  of  harm ; 
And  teach  us  still 
His   sweet   good-will 
This  merry  Christmas  morning. 

Edwin  Waugh. 


.[  149  ] 


J^  HOME  .  SWEET  •  HOME  }^ 


A   Christmas   Carol 

I 


T  chanced  upon  the  merry,  merry  Christmas 

Eve 

I  went  sighing  past  the  church,  across  the 
moorland  dreary, — 
*'Oh!  never  sin  and  want  and  woe  this  earth 

will  leave, 
And  the  bells  but  mock  the  waihng  round  they 

sing  so  cheery. 
How  long,  O  Lord!  how  long  before  Thou 
come  again? 
Still  in  cellar,  and  in  garret,  and  on  moor- 
land dreary. 
The  orphans  moan,   and   widows   weep,   and 
poor  men  toil  in  vain, 
Till  earth  is  sick  of  hope  deferred,  though 
Christmas  bells  be  cheery." 

Then  arose  a  joyous  clamor  from  the  wildfowl 

on  the  mere, 
Beneath  the  stars,  across  the  snow,  like  clear 

bells  ringing, 
And  a  voice  within  cried,  ''Listen !    Christmas 

carols  even  here ! 

[151] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  ■  TREASURY  ^ 

Though  thou  be  dumb,  yet  o'er  their  work 
the  stars  and  snows  are  singing. 
BHnd !     I  Hve,  I  love,  I  reign ;  and  all  the  na- 
tions through 

With  the  thunder  of  My  judgments  even 
now  are  ringing. 
Do  thou  fulfil  thy  work  but  as  yon  wildfowl 
do, 

Thou  wilt  hear  no  less  the  wailing,  yet  hear 
through  it  angels  singing. 

Chakles  Kingsley. 


Christmas  Day — 1868 

HOW  will  it  dawn,  the  coming  Christmas 
Day? 
A  northern  Christmas,  such  as  painters  love, 
And  kinsfolk,  shaking  hands  but  once  a  year, 
And  dames  who  tell  old  legends  by  the  fire  ? 
Red  sun,  blue  sky,  white  snow,  and  pearled 

ice. 
Keen,  ringing  air,  which  sets  the  blood  on  fire. 
And  makes  the  old  man  merry  with  the  young, 

[152] 


^  PRO  .  ARIS  .  ET  .  FOCIS  ^ 

Through    the    short    sunshine,    through    the 

longer  night  ? 
Or  southern  Christmas,  dark  and  dank  with 

mist, 
And  heavy  with  the  scent  of  steaming  leaves, 
And    rosebuds    mouldering    on    the    dripping 

porch ; 
One  twilight,  without  rise  or  set  of  sun. 
Till  beetles  drone  along  the  hollow  lane, 
And  round  the  leafless  hawthorns,  flitting  bats 
Hawk  the  pale  moths  of  winter?     Welcome, 

then. 
At  best,  the  flying  gleam,  the  flying  shower. 
The   rain-pools  glittering  on   the   long  white 

roads, 
And  shadows  sweeping  on  from  down  to  down 
Before  the  salt  Atlantic  gale :  yet  come 
In  whatsoever  garb,  or  gay  or  sad, 
Come  fair,  come  foul,  'twill  still  be  Christmas 

Day. 

How  w^U  it  dawn,  the  coming  Christmas 
Day? 
To  sailors  lounging  on  the  lonely  deck 
Beneath  the  rushing  trade-wind?    Or  to  him 
Who,  by  some  noisome  harbor  of  the  East, 

[153] 


^ 


THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY 


^ 


Watches  swart  arms  roll  down  the  precious 

bales, 
Spoils  of  the  tropic  forests ;  year  by  year 
Amid  the  din  of  heathen  voices  groaning, 
Himself  half  heathen?    How  to  those — brave 

hearts ! — 
Who  toil   with  laden  loins  and  sinking  stride, 
Beside  the  bitter  wells  of  treeless  sands 
Toward  the  peaks  which  flood  the  ancient  Nile, 
To  free  a  tyrant's  captives?    How  to  those — 
New    patriarchs    of    the    new-found    under- 
world— 
Who  stand,  like  Jacob,  on  the  virgin  lawns. 
And  count  their  flocks'  increase?     To  them 

that  day 
Shall  dawn  in  glory  and  solstitial  blaze 
Of  full  midsummer  sun ;  to  them  that  morn. 
Gay  flowers  beneath  their  feet,  gay  birds  aloft. 
Shall  tell  of  nought  but  summer :  but  to  them. 
Ere  yet,  unwarned  by  carol  or  by  chime. 
They  spring  into  the  saddle,  thrills  may  come 
From  that  great  heart  of  Christendom  which 

beats 
Round  all  the  worlds;  and  gracious  thoughts 

of  youth; 
Of  steadfast  folk,  who  worship  God  at  home; 


[154] 


^  DULCE  .  DOMUM  •  RESOXEMUS  ^ 

Of  wise   words,   learnt  beside  their  mothers' 

knee ; 
Of  innocent  faces  upturned  once  again, 
In  awe  and  joy  to  Hsten  to  the  tale 
Of  God  made  man,  and  in  a  manger  laid : 
May  soften,  purify,  and  raise  the  soul 
From  selfish  cares,  and  growing  lust  of  gain, 
And  phantoms  of  this  dream  which  some  call 

Hfe, 
Toward  the  eternal  facts ;  for  here  or  there, 
Summer  or  winter,  'twill  be  Christmas  Day. 

Blest  day,  which  aye  reminds  us,  year  by 

year. 
What  'tis  to  be  a  man ;  to  curb  and  spurn 
The  tyrant  in  us :  that  ignobler  self 
Which  boasts,  not  loathes,  its  likeness  to  the 

brute. 
And  owns  no  good  save  ease,  no  ill  save  pain, 
No  purpose,  save  its  share  in  that  wild  war 
In  which,  through  countless  ages,  living  things 
Compete  in  internecine  greed.    Ah,  God ! 
Are   we  as   creeping  things,   which  have   no 

Lord? 
That  we  are  brutes,  great  God,  we  know  too 

well : 

[155] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

Apes,  daintier- featured ;  silly  birds  who  flaunt 
Their  plumes  unheeding  of  the  fowler's  step; 
Spiders,  who  catch  with  paper,  not  with  webs ; 
Tigers,  who  slay  with  cannon  and  sharp  steel, 
Instead  of  teeth  and  claws — all  these  we  are. 
Are  we  no  more  than  these,  and  born  but  to 

compete — 
To  envy  and  devour,  like  beast  or  herb ; 
Mere  fools  of  nature ;  puppets  of  strong  lusts. 
Taking  the  sword,  to  perish  with  the  sword 
Upon  the  universal  battlefield. 
Even  as  the  things  upon  the  moor  outside? 

The  heath  eats  up  green  grass  and  delicate 

flowers. 
The  pine  eats  up  the  heath,  the  grub  the  pine. 
The  finch  the  grub,  the  hawk  the  silly  finch ; 
And  man,  the  mightiest  of  all  beasts  of  prey, 
Eats  what  he  lists :  the  strong  eat  up  the  weak. 
The  many  eat  the  few ;  great  nations,  small ; 
And  he  who  cometh  in  the  name  of  all — 
He,  greediest,  triumphs  by  the  greed  of  all ; 
And,  armed  by  his  own  victims,  eats  up  all : 
While  ever  out  of  the  eternal  heavens 
Looks  patient  down  the  great,  magnanimous 

God, 

[156] 


|Z(  HAEC  .  TATRIA  •  EST  ^ 

Who,  Maker  of  all  worlds,  did  sacrifice 
All  to  Himself!     Nay,  but  Himself  to  one: 
Who  taught  mankind  on  that  first  Christmas 

Day 
What  'twas  to  be  a  man ;  to  give,  not  take ; 
To  serve,  not  rule ;  to  nourish,  not  devour ; 
To  help,  not  crush ;  if  need,  to  die,  not  live. 

Oh,  blessed  day,  which  giv'st  the  eternal  lie 
To  self,  and  sense,  and  all  the  brute  within; 
Oh,  come  to  us,  amid  this  war  of  life ; 
To  hall  and  hovel,  come;  to  all  who  toil, 
In  senate,  shop,  or  study ;  and  to  those 
Who,  sundered  by  the  wastes  of  half  a  world. 
Ill-warned,  and  sorely  tempted,  ever  face 
Nature's  brute  powers,  and  men  unmanned  to 

brutes. 
Come  to  them,  blest  and  blessing,  Christmas 

Day. 
Tell  them  once  more  the  tale  of  Bethlehem ; 
The  kneeling  shepherds,  and  the  Babe  Divine : 
And  keep  them  men  indeed,   fair  Christmas 

Day. 

Charles  Kixgsley. 


[157] 


}^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A   Christmas  Carmen 


SOUND  over  all  waters,  reach  out  from  all 
lands, 
The  chorus  of  voices,  the  clasping  of  hands ; 
Sing  hymns  that  were  sung  by  the  stars  of  the 

morn. 
Sing  songs  of  the  angels  when  Jesus  was  born ! 
With  glad  jubilations 
Bring  hope  to  the  nations ! 
The  dark  night  is  ending  and  dawn  has  begun : 
Rise,  hope  of  the  ages,  arise  like  the  sun. 
All  speech  flow  to  music,  all  hearts  beat  as 
one! 

11. 

Sing  the  bridal  of  nations!  with  chorals   of 

love; 
Sing  out  the  war-vulture  and  sing  in  the  dove, 
Till  the  hearts  of  the  peoples   keep  time  in 

accord. 
And  the  voice  of  the  world  is  the  voice  of  the 

Lord! 

[158] 


)X^    BLOW  .  THE  .  MARCHES  •  OF  •  PEACE    ^ 

Clasp  hands  of  the  nations 

In   strong  gratulations : 
The  dark  night  is  ending  and  dawn  has  begun ; 
Rise,  hope  of  the  ages,  arise  Hke  the  sun, 
All  speech  flow  to  music,  all  hearts  beat  as 

one! 

III. 
Blow,  bugles  of  battle,  the  marches  of  peace ; 
East,  west,  north  and  south,  let  the  long  quar- 
rel cease : 
Sing  the  song  of  great  joy  that  the  angels 

began, 
Sing  of  glory  to  God  and  of  good-will  to  man ! 
Hark!  joining  in  chorus 
The  heavens  bend  o'er  us ! 
The  dark  night  is  ending  and  dawn  has  begun  ; 
Rise,  hope  of  the  ages,  arise  like  the  sun, 
All  speech  flow  to  music,  all  hearts  beat  as 
one! 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 


[159] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


The  Star  of   Bethlehem 

WHERE  Time  the  measure  of  his  hours 
By  changeful  bud  and  blossom  keeps, 
And,  like  a  young  bride  crowned  with  floWers, 
Fair  Shiraz  in  her  garden  sleeps ; 

Where,  to  her  poet's  turban  stone. 

The  Spring  her  gift  of  flowers  imparts, 

Less  sweet  than  those  his  thoughts  have  sown 
In  the  warm  soil  of  Persian  hearts : 

There  sat  the  stranger,  where  the  shade 
Of  scattered  date  trees  thinly  lay, 

While  in  the  hot,  clear  heaven  delayed 
The  long  and  still  and  weary  day. 

Strange  trees  and  fruits  above  him  hung. 
Strange  odors  filled  the  sultry  air. 

Strange  birds  upon  the  branches  swung. 
Strange  insect  voices  murmured  there. 

And  strange  bright  blossoms  shone  around, 
Turned  sunward  from  the  shadowy  bowers, 

As  if  the  Gheber's  soul  had  found 
A  fitting  home  in  Iran's  flowers. 

[i6o] 


^  YEA  .  A  .  GOODLY  •  HERITAGE  ^ 

Whate'er  he  saw,  whatever  he  heard, 
Awakened  feelings  new  and  sad : 

No  Christian  garb,  nor  Christian  word. 

Nor  church  with  Sabbath-bell  chimes  glad, 

But  Moslem  graves,  with  turban  stones. 
And  mosque  spires  gleaming  white,  in  view, 

And  graybeard  Mollahs  in  low  tones 
Chanting  their  Koran  service  through. 

The  flowers  which  smiled  on  either  hand. 
Like  tempting  fiends,  were  such  as  they 

Which  once,  o'er  all  that  Eastern  land. 
As  gifts  on  demon  altars  lay. 

As  if  the  burning  eye  of  Baal 

The  servant  of  his  Conquerer  knew, 

From  skies  which  knew  no  cloudy  veil 
The  Sun's  hot  glances  smote  him  through. 

*'Ah  me!"  the  lonely  stranger  said, 
''The  hope  which  led  my  footsteps  on, 

And  light  from  heaven  around  them  shed. 
O'er  weary  wave  and  waste,  is  gone! 

[i6i] 


1^  .        THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

*'Where  are  the  harvest  fields  all  white, 
For  Truth  to  thrust  her  sickle  in? 

Where  flock  the  souls,  like  doves  in  flight, 
From  the  dark  hiding  place  of  sin? 

*'A  silent  horror  broods  o'er  all — 
The  burden  of  a  hateful  spell — 

The  very  flowers  around  recall 
The  hoary  magi's  rites  of  hell ! 

''And  what  am  I,  o'er  such  a  land 
The  banner  of  the  Cross  to  bear? 

Dear  Lord,  uphold  me  with  Thy  hand. 

Thy  strength  with  human  weakness  share !' 

He  ceased,  for  at  his  very  feet, 
In  mild  rebuke,  a  floweret  smiled ; 

How  thrilled  his  sinking  heart  to  greet 
The  Star-flower  of  the  Virgin's  child! 

Sown  by  some  wandering  Frank,  it  drew 

Its  life  from  alien  air  and  earth, 
And  told  to  Paynim  sun  and  dew 

The  story  of  the  Savior's  birth. 

[162] 


I 
I 


^  GOD  .  IS  .  EVERYWHERE  |X( 

From  scorching  beams,  in  kindly  mood, 
The  Persian  plant  its  beauty  screened, 

And  on  its  pagan  sisterhood, 

In  love,  the  Christian  floweret  leaned. 

With  tears  of  joy  the  wanderer  felt 
The  darkness  of  his  long  despair 

Before  that  hallowed  symbol  melt, 

Which  God's  dear  love  had  nurtured  there. 

From  Nature's  face  that  simple  flower 
The  lines  of  sin  and  sadness  swept, 

And  Magian  pile  and  Paynim  bower 
In  peace  like  that  of  Eden  slept. 

Each  Moslem  tomb,  and  cypress  old, 
Looked  holy  through  the  sunset  air, 

And,  angel-like,  that  Muezzin  told 

From  tower  and  mosque  the  hour  of  prayer. 

With  cheerful  steps  the  morrow's  dawn 
From  Shiraz  saw  the  stranger  part. 

The  Star-flower  of  the  Virgin-born 
Still  blooming  in  his  hopeful  heart ! 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 

[163] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A  Christmas  Song 


B' 


>  LOW,  wind,  blow ; 

Sing  through  yard  and  shroud ; 

Pipe  it  shrilly  and  loud, 

Aloft  as  well  as  below ; 
Sing  in  my  sailor's  ear 

The  song  I  sing  to  you, 

''Come  home,  my  sailor  true. 
For  Christmas  that  comes  so  near." 

Go,  wind,  go ; 
Hurry  his  home-bound  sail. 
Through  gusts  that  are  edged  with  hail. 

Through  winter,  and  sleet,  and  snow^ ; 
Song,  in  my  sailor's  ear, 

Your  shrilling  and  moan  shall  be. 
For  he  knows  they  sing  him  to  me 
And  Christmas  that  comes  so  near. 

William  Cox  Bennett. 


[164] 


^      THE  .  LUXURY  ^  OF  •  DOING  •  GOOD      )X( 


A  Christmas  Carol 

EVERYWHERE,    everywhere,    Christmas 
to-night ! 
Christmas  in  lands  of  the  fir-tree  and  pine, 
Christmas  in  lands  of  the  palm-tree  and  vine, 
Christmas  where  snow-peaks  stand  solemn  and 

w^hite, 
Christmas    where    corn    fields    lie    sunny    and 
bright. 
Everywhere,     everywhere,     Christmas     to- 
night ! 

Christmas  w^here  children  are  hopeful  and  gay, 
Christmas  where  old  men  are  patient  and  gray, 
Christmas  where  peace,  like  a  dove  in  its  flight, 
Broods  o'er  brave  men  in  the  thick  of  the  fight. 
Everywhere,  everywhere,  Christmas  to- 
night ! 

For  the  Christ-child  who  comes  is  the  Master 

of  all. 
No  palace  too  great  and  no  cottage  too  small ; 

[165] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

The  angels  who  welcome  Him  sing  from  the 

height, 
'In  the  City  of  David  a  King  in  His  might." 
Everywhere,     everywhere,     Christmas     to- 
night ! 

Then  let  every  heart  keep  its  Christmas  within, 

Christ's  pity  for  sorrow,  Christ's  hatred  for 
sin, 

Christ's  care  for  the  weakest,  Christ's  courage 
for  right, 

Christ's  dread  of  the  darkness,  Christ's  love  of 
the  light. 
Everywhere,     everywhere,     Christmas     to- 
night ! 

So  the  stars  of  the  midnight  which  compass  us 
round 

Shall  see  a  strange  glory,  and  hear  a  sweet 
sound, 

And  cry,  "Look!  the  earth  is  aflame  with  de- 
light, 

O  sons  of  the  morning,  rejoice  at  the  sight." 
Everywhere,     everywhere,     Christmas     to- 
night ! 

Phillips  Brooks. 

[i66] 


^  WHERE  .  WE  .  LOVE  •  IS  •  HOME         ^ 


Outlanders,  Whence  Come  Ye  Last? 

OUTLANDERS,  whence  come  ye  last? 
The  snow  in  the  street  and  the  wind  on 
the  door. 
Through  what  green  seas  and  great  have  ye 
passed  ? 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth   on    the 
floor. 


From  far  away,  O  masters  mine, 

The  snozc  in  the  street  and  the  zcind  on  the 
door. 
We  come  to  bear  you  goodly  wine, 

Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth    on    the 
floor. 

From  far  away  we  come  to  you, 

The  snozi'  in  the  street  and  the  ziind  on  the 
door. 
To  tell  of  great  tidings  strange  and  true. 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth    on    the 
floor. 

[167] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X( 

News,  news  of  the  Trinity, 

The  snozv  in  the  street  and  the  wind  on  the 
door. 
And  Mary  and  Joseph  from  over  the  sea ! 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth    on   the 
floor. 

For  as  we  wandered  far  and  wide, 

The  snozv  i)i  the  street  and  the  wind  on  the 
door. 
What  hap  do  ye  deem  there  should  us  betide ! 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand  forth   on   the 
floor. 

Under  a  tent,  when  the  night  was  deep, 

The  snozv  in  the  street  and  the  wind  on  the 
door. 
There  lay  three  shepherds,  tending  their  sheep. 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth   on   the 
floor, 

"O  ye  shepherds,  what  have  ye  seen, 

The  snozv  in  the  street  and  the  wind  on  the 
door. 
To  slay  your  sorrow  and  heal  your  teen?'' 
Minstrels  and   maids,   stand  forth   on   the 
■floor. 

[i68] 


^       NEAREST.  WAY  •  HOME  .  IS  •  BEST      ^ 

''In  an  ox-stall  this  night  we  saw 

The  snow  in  the  street  and  the  zuind  on  the 
door. 
A  babe  and  a  maid  without  a  flaw. 

Minstrels   and    maids,   stand   fortli    on    tlie 
floor, 

"There  was  an  old  man  there  beside, 

The  snozi)  in  the  street  and  the  zvind  on  the 
door. 
His  hair  was  white  and  his  hood  was  wide. 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth    on    the 
floor, 

"And  as  we  gazed  this  thing  upon, 

The  snozv  in  the  street  and  the  zvind  on  the 
door. 
Those  twain  knelt  down  to  the  Little  One. 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth    on    the 
floor, 

*'And  a  marvelous  song  we  straight  did  hear, 
The  snozv  in  the  street  and  the  zi'ind  on  the 
door. 
That  slew  our  sorrow  and  healed  our  care.'' 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand  forth   on   the 
floor. 

[169] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  |X( 

News  of  a  fair  and  a  marvelous  thing, 

The  snozv  in  the  street  and  the  zvind  on  the 
door, 
Nowell,  nowell,  nowell,  we  sing!    ' 
Minstrels   and   maids,   stand   forth   on   the 
Hoar. 

William  Morris. 


Christmas  Eve 

ALONE — with  one  fair  star  for  company, 
The  loveHest  star  among  the  hosts  of 
night. 
While    the    grey    tide   ebbs    with    the    ebbing 

light— 
I  pace  along  the  darkening  wintry  sea. 
Now  round  the  Yule-log  and  the  glittering 

tree 
Twinkling  with  festive  tapers,  eyes  as  bright 
Sparkle  with  Christmas  joys  and  young  de- 
light, 
As  each  one  gathers  his  family. 

[170] 


^  THE  .  SWEET  •  VOICE  •  OF  •  JOY  ^ 


But  I — a  waif  on  earth  where'er  I  roam — 
Uprooted  with  Hfe's  bleeding  hopes  and  fears 
From  that  one  heart  that  was  my  heart's  sole 

home 
Feel  the  old  pang  pierce  through  the  severing 

years, 
And  as  I  think  upon  the  years  to  come 
That   fair   star  trembles   through   my   falling 

tears. 

Mathilde  Blind. 


Christmas  at  Sea 

THE  sheets  were  frozen  hard,  and  they  cut 
the  naked  hand ; 
The  decks  were  like  a  slide,  where  a  seaman 

scarce  could  stand ; 
The  wind  was  a  nor'wester,  blowing  squally  off 

the  sea, 
And  the  cliffs  and  spouting  breakers  were  the 
only  things  a-lee. 

They  heard  the  surf  a-roaring  before  the  break 
of  day ; 


[171] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

But  'twas  only  with  the  peep  of  light  we  saw 

how  ill  we  lay. 
We  tumbled  every  hand  on  deck  instanter,  with 

a  shout, 
And  we  gave  her  the  maintops'l,  and  stood  by 

to  go  about. 

All  day  we  tacked  and  tacked  between  the 

South  Head  and  the  North ; 
All  day  we  hauled  the  frozen  sheets,  and  got 

no  further  forth; 
All  day  as  cold  as  charity,  in  bitter  pain  and 

dread, 
For  very  life  and  nature  we  tacked  from  head 

to  head. 

We  gave  the  South  a  wider  berth,  for  there  the 

tide-race  roared ; 
But  every  tack  we  made  we  brought  the  North 

Head  close  aboard : 
So's  we  saw  cliffs  and  houses,  and  the  breakers 

running  high, 
And  the  coastguard  in  his  garden,  with  his 

glass  against  his  eye. 
The  frost  was  on  the  village  roofs  as  white  as 

ocean  foam ; 

[172] 


^  HOME . HOME • HOME  ^ 

The   good   red   fires   were   burning  bright   in 

every  'longshore  home ; 
The  windows  sparkled  clear,  and  the  chimneys 

volleyed  out, 
And  I  vow  we  sniffed  the  victuals  as  the  vessel 

went  about. 


The  bells  upon  the  church  were  rung  with  a 
mighty  jovial  cheer; 

For  it's  just  that  I  should  tell  you  how  (of  all 
days  in  the  year) 

This  day  of  our  adversity  was  blessed  Christ- 
mas morn, 

And  the  house  above  the  coastguard's  was  the 
house  where  I  was  born. 


O  well  I  saw  the  pleasant  room,  the  pleasant 

faces  there, 
My  mother's  silver  spectacles,  my  father's  silver 

hair ; 
And  well  I  saw  the  firelight,  like  a  flight  of 

homely  elves, 
Go  dancing  round  the  china  plates  that  stood 

upon  the  shelves. 

[173] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

And  well  I  knew  the  talk  they  had,  the  talk  that 

was  of  me, 
Of  the  shadow  on  the  household  and  the  son 

that  went  to  sea ; 
And  O  the  wicked  fool  I  seemed,  in  every  kind 

of  way, 
To  be  here  and  hauling  frozen  ropes  on  blessed 

Christmas  Day. 

They  lit  the  high  sea-light,  and  the  dark  began 

to  fall. 
*'A11  hands  to  loose  topgallant  sails,"  I  heard 

the  captain  call. 
''By  the  Lord,  she'll  never  stand  it,"  our  first 

mate,  Jackson,  cried.  .  .  . 
''It's  the  one  way  or  the  other,  Mr.  Jackson," 

he  replied. 

She  staggered  to  her  bearings,  but  the  sails 

were  new  and  good. 
And  the  ship  smelt  up  to  windward  just  as 

though  she  understood. 
As  the  winter's  day  was  ending,  in  the  entry 

of  the  night. 
We  cleared  the  weary  headland,  and  passed 

below  the  light. 

[174] 


^  CHRIST  .  IS  .  BEST  |^ 

And  they  heaved  a  mighty  breath,  every  soul 

on  board  but  me, 
As  they  saw  her  nose  again  pointing  handsome 

to  the  sea ; 
But  all  that  I  could  think  of,  in  the  darkness 

and  the  cold, 
Was  just  that  I  was  leaving  home  and  my 

folks  were  growing  old. 

R.  L.  Stevenson. 


Christmas  Carol 

WHOSO  hears  a  chiming  for  Christmas 
at  the  nighest. 
Hears  a  sound  like  Angels  chanting  in  their 
glee. 
Hears  a  sound  like  palm-boughs  waving  in  the 
highest. 
Hears  a  sound  like  ripple  of  a  crystal  sea. 
Sweeter  than  a  prayer-bell  for  a  saint  in  dying, 
Sweeter  than  a  death-bell  for  a  saint  at  rest, 

[175] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Music  struck  in  Heaven  with  earth's  faint  re- 
plying, 
''Life  is  good,  and  death  is  good,  for  Christ 
is  Best/' 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 


Christmas  in  India 

DIM  dawn  behind  the  tamarisks — the  sky 
is  saffron-yellow — 
As  the  women  in  the  village  grind  the  corn, 
And  the  parrots  seek  the  river-side,  each  call- 
ing to  his  fellow 
That  the  Day,  the  staring  Eastern  Day,  is 
born. 

O  the  white  dust  on  the  highway ! 

O  the  stenches  in  the  byway ! 
O  the  clammy  fog  that  hovers  over  earth ! 

And  at  Home  they're  making  merry 

'Neath  the  white  and  scarlet  berry — 
What  part   have   India's   exiles   in   their 

mirth  ? 

[176] 


}^  CHRIST  .  THE  •  BINDER  •  OF  .  PEOPLES  ^ 

Full  day  behind  the  tamarisks — the  sky  is  blue 
and  staring, 
As  the  cattle  crawl  afield  beneath  the  yoke, 
And  they  bear  One  o'er  the  field-path  who  is 
past  all  hope  or  caring, 
To  that  ghat  beow  the  curling  wreaths  of 
smoke. 

Call  on  Rama,  going  slowly, 
As  ye  bear  a  brother  lowly — 
Call   on   Rama — he   may   hear,   perhaps, 
your  voice ! 
With  our  hymn-books  and  our  psalters 
We  appeal  to  other  altars, 
And  to-day  we  bid  ''good  Christian  men 
rejoice!'' 

High  noon  behind  the  tamarisks — the  sun  is 
hot  above  us, 
As  at  Home  the  Christmas  Day  is  breaking 
wan. 
They  will  drink  our  healths  at  dinner — those 
who  tell  us  how  they  love  us. 
And  forget  us  till  another  year  be  gone ! 
O  the  toil  that  knows  no  breaking ! 
O  the  Hcimzuch,  ceaseless  aching! 

[177] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

O  the  black  dividing  Sea  and  alien  Plain! 

Youth  was  cheap — wherefore  we  sold  it; 

Gold  was  good — we  hoped  to  hold  it ; 
And  to-day  we  know  the  fulness  of  our  gain. 

Gray  dusk  behind  the  tamarisks — the  parrots 
fly  together — 
As  the  sun  is  sinking  slowly  over  Home ; 
And  his  last  ray  seems  to  mock  us  shackled 
in   a   lifelong  tether 
That  drags  us  back  however  so  far  we  roam. 

Hard   her   service,    poor   her   payment — 
She  in  ancient,  tattered  raiment — 

India,  she  the  grim  Stepmother  of  our  kind. 
If  a  year  of  life  be  lent  her, 
If  her  temple's  shrine  we  enter, 

The  door  is  shut — we  may  not  look  behind. 

Black  night  behind  the  tamarisks — the  owls 
begin  their  chorus — 
As  the  conches  from  the  temple  scream  and 
bray. 
With  the  fruitless  years  behind  us,  and  the 
hopeless  years  before  us, 
Let  us  honor,  O  my  brothers,   Christmas 
Day! 

[178] 


|X^  LET  .  REST  .  FOLLOW  •  LABOR  ^ 


Call  a  truce,  then,  to  our  labors, 
Let  us  feast  with  friends  and  neighbors; 
And  be  merry  as  the  custom  of  our  caste ; 
For  if  ''faint  and  forced  the  laughter," 
And  if  sadness  follow  after, 
We  are  richer  by  one  mocking  Christmas 
past. 

RuDYARD  Kipling. 


At  Christmas 


(written  in  south  AFRICA.) 

STREW    our    green    earth — flowers !     Our 
blue  skies — incense 
Mount  in  wreath  and  spray ! 
Set  the  Figures  Three  within  the  Rock-Cave 

All  a  Christmas  Day ! 
And  it's  O  to  dream  of  Essex  gables  under 

snow  clouds  gray — 
And  it's  Ah  to  wake  and  know  them  years  and 
years  away ! 

[179] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Dark  babe-burthened  mothers,  hail  the  Mother, 

Fair  as  England's  May ! 
Let  us  back  again  to  where  we  once  clung 

On  a  Christmas  Day! 
And  it's  O  to  dream  those  same  mothers  on 

whose  breasts  we  lay — 
And  it's  Ah  to  wake  and  know  them  half  the 
earth  away ! 


Small   brown  goatherds,  dance   and   sing  to 
Jesus 
On  His  bed  of  hay ! 
You  to-day  He  heeds,  as  once  He  heeded 

Me  on  Christmas  Day ! 
And  it's  O  to  dream  of  things  we  once  saw, 

ere  we  said  God  ''Nay!" 
And  it's  Ah  to  wake  and  know  them  half  a 
life  away ! 


Poor-men  brothers,  up  and  hie  to  Joseph — 

By  the  Crib  to  pray ! 
Gentler  hearts  and  sterner  wills  we'll  ask  for 

On  our  Christmas  Day ! 

.    ^  [  i8o  ] 


^     JESUS  .  FLOWER  •  OF  •  THE  •  HEART     ^ 

And  it's  O  to  guess  what  man  I  might  be, 

would  I  but  obey ! 
Is  it  I  that  heed  at  last  the  Bidding?    Wend  at 

last  the  Way? 

Arthur  Shearly  Cripps. 


[i8i] 


THE    CHRISTMAS    OF    RELIGION 


OUT  of  the  Shadow  of  the  Night 
I  come,  led  by  the  starshine  bright, 
With  broken  heart  to  bring  to  Thee 
The  fruit  of  Thine  Epiphany, 
The  gift  my  fellows  send  by  me, 
The  myrrh  to  bed  Thine  agony, 
I  set  it  here  beneath  Thy  feet, 
In  token  of  Death's  great  defeat ; 
And  hail  Thee  Conqueror  in  the  strife, 
And  hail  Thee  Lord  of  Light  and  Life. 

All  hail !     All  hail  the  Virgin  Son ! 

All  hail!     Thou  little  helpless  One! 

All  hail !     Thou  King  upon  the  Tree  ! 

All  hail !     The  Babe  on  Mary's  Knee, 
The  center  of  all  mystery ! 

Michael  Fairless. 


[183] 


^  THE  •  SON  .  IS  .  BORN  •  TO-DAY  ^ 


The  Nativity 

1SING  the  Birth  was  born  to-night, 
The  Author  both  of  life  and  Hght; 
The  angels  so  did  sound  it ; 
And  hke  the  ravish'd  shepherds  said, 
Who  saw  the  Hght,  and  were  afraid, 
Yet  searched,  and  true  they  found  it. 

The  Son  of  God,  the  eternal  King, 
That  did  us  all  salvation  bring. 

And  freed  the  soul  from  danger ; 
He  whom  the  whole  world  could  not  take, 
The  Word,  which  heaven  and  earth  did  make, 

Was  now  laid  in  a  manger. 

What  comfort  by  Him  do  we  win, 
Who  made  Himself  the  price  of  sin, 

To  make  us  heirs  of  glory ! 
To  see  this  Babe,  all  innocence, 
A  martyr  born  in  our  defense — 

Can  man  forget  this  story? 

Ben  Jonson. 

[185] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  ^ 


Of  The  Nativity  of  Christ 

T> ORATE  Cecil  de super! 

Heavens  distill  your  balmy  showers, 

For  now  is  risen  the  bright  daystar 
From  the  Rose  Mary,  flower  of  flowers : 
The  clear  sun,  whom  no  cloud  devours. 

Surmounting  Phoebus  in  the  east. 
Is  comen  of  his  heavenly  towers; 

Et  nobis  Puer  natus  est. 

Archangels,  angels,  dominations, 

Thrones,  potentates,  and  martyrs  seir,^ 

And  all  the  heavenly  operations. 
Star,  planet,  firmament  and  sphere, 
Fire,  earth,  air,  and  water  clear, 

To  Him  give  loving,  most  and  least. 
That  come  is  in  so  meek  maneir; 

Et  nobis  Puer  natus  est. 

Sinners  be  glad,  and  penance  do, 
And  thank  your  Maker  heartily, 

For  He,  that  ye  might  not  come  to, 
To  you  is  comen  full  humbly, 

I  Mary. 

[i86] 


|X^  GLORIA  •  IX  .  EXCELSIS  ^ 

Your  soules  with  His  blood  to  buy, 
And  loose  you  of  the  fiend's  arrest, 

And  only  of  His  own  mercy ; 
Pro  nobis  Piicr  natiis  est. 

Celestial  fowles  in  the  air. 

Sing  with  your  notes  upon  hight, 

In  firthes  and  forests  fair. 

Be  mirthful  now,  at  all  your  might. 
For  passed  is  your  dully  night; 

Aurora  has  the  cloudis  perced, 

The  sun  is  risen  with  gladsome  light, 

Et  nobis  Pucr  natiis  est. 

Now  spring  up  flowres  from  the  root, 

Revert  you  upward  naturally. 
In  honor  of  the  blessed  fruit 

That  rose  up  from  the  Rose  iMary; 

Lay  out  your  leaves  lustily, 
From  dead  take  life  now,  at  the  least, 

In  worship  of  that  Prince  worthy, 
Qui  nobis  Pucr  natiis  est. 

Sing  heaven  imperial,  most  of  height, 
Regions  of  air  make  harmony; 

All  fish  in  floud,  and  fowl  of  flight, 
Be  mirthful  and  make  melody; 

[187] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X^ 

All  Gloria  in  Excelsis  cry, 
Heaven,  earth,  sea,  man,  bird  and  beast, 

He  that  is  crowned  above  the  sky. 
Pro  nobis  Piicr  natus  est. 

William  Dunbar. 


Christ's  Nativity 

HOW  gladdeth  every  living  creature, 
With  bliss  and  comfortable  gladness, 
The  heaven's  King  is  clad  in  our  nature, 
Us  from  the  death  with  ransom  to  redress ; 
The  lamp  of  joy,  that  chases  all  darkness, 
Ascended  is  to  be  the  world's  light. 
From  every  bale  our  boundes  for  to  bliss, 
Born  of  the  glorious  Virgin  Mary  bright. 

Above  the  radiant  heaven  ethereal, 

The  Court  of  Stars,  the  course  of  sun  and 

moon. 
The  potent  Prince  of  Joy  Imperial, 
The  high  surmounting  European  abone, 

[i88] 


^         THIS  •  IS  .  THE  .  IIArPY  •  MORN         ^ 

Is  coming  from  His  mighty  Father's  throne 
In  earth,  with  an  inestimable  hght, 
And  praised  of  angels  with  a  sweet  intone ; 
Born  of  the  glorious  Virgin  jNIary  bright. 

Who  ever  in  earth  heard  so  blythe  a  story, 
Or  tidings  of  so  great  felicity? 
As  how  the  garthe  of  all  grace  and  glory, 
For  love  and  mercy  hath  ta'en  humanity ; 
Maker  of  angels,  man,  earth,  heaven  and  sea, 
And  t'  overcome  our  foe,  and  put  to  flight, 
Is  coming  a  babe,  full  of  benignity. 
Born  of  the  glorious  Virgin  Alary  bright. 

The  sovereign  senior  of  all  celsitude, 
That  sits  above  the  order'd  Cherabin, 
Which  all  things  creat,  and  all  things  does  in- 
clude. 
That  never  end  shall,  never  did  begin, 
But  W'hom  is  naught,  from  Whom  no  time 

does  rin. 
With  whom  all  good  is,  with  Whom  is  every 

wight, 
Is  with  His  wounds  come  for  to  wash  our  sin ; 
Born  of  the  most  chaste  Virgin  J\Iary  bright. 
William  Dunbar. 

[189] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


On  the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity 

THIS   is  the  Month,   and  this  the  happy 
morn 
Wherein  the  Son  of  Heav'n's  eternal  King, 
Of  wedded  Maid,  and  Virgin  Mother  born, 
Our  great  redemption  from  above  did  bring; 
For  so  the  holy  sages  once  did  sing, 

That  He  our  deadly  forfeit  should  release. 
And  with   His   Father  work  us   a  perpetual 
peace. 

That  glorious  Form,  that  Light  unsufiferable, 
And  that  far-beaming  blaze  of  Majesty, 
Wherewith  he  wont  at  Heaven's  high  Councel 

Table, 
To  sit  the  midst  of  Trinal  Unity; 
He  laid  aside,  and  here  with  us  to  be 

Forsook  the  Courts  of  everlasting  Day, 
And  chose  with  us  a  darksom  House  of  mortal 

Clay. 

Say,  Heav'nly  Muse,  shall  not  thy  sacred  vein 

Afiford  a  present  to  the  Infant  God? 

Hast  thou  no  vers,  no  hymn,  or  solemn  strein, 

[  190  ] 


^        CHRIST  .  THE  •  MAN  •  OF  •  PEACE       ^ 

To  welcome  Him  to  this  His  new  abode, 
Now    while    the    Heav'n   by   the    Suns    team 
untrod, 
Hath  took  no  print  of  the  approaching  light. 
And  all  the  spangled  host  keep  w^atch  in  squad- 
rons bright? 

See  how  from  far  upon  the  Eastern  rode 
The  Star-led  Wisards  haste  with  odours  sweet, 
O  run,  prevent  them  with  thy  humble  ode, 
And  lay  it  lowly  down  at  His  blessed  feet ; 
Have  thou  the  honour  first,  thy  Lord  to  greet. 
And  joyn  thy  voice  unto  the  Angel  Quire, 
From  out  His  secret  Atar  toucht  with  hallow'd 
fire. 

THE   HYMN 

I. 

IT  was  the  winter  wild, 
While  the  heaven-born  child, 
All  meanly  wrapt,  in  the  crude  manger  lies ; 
Nature  in  awe  to  Him 
Had  dofif'd  her  gaudy  trim, 

With  her  great  IVIaster  so  to  sympathize; 
It  was  no  season  then  for  her 
To  wanton  with  the  sun,  her  lusty  paramour. 

[191] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

II. 

Only  with  speeches  fair 
She  wooes  the  gentle  air, 

To  hide  her  guilty  front  with  innocent  snow, 
And  on  her  naked  shame, 
Pollute  with  sinful  blame. 

The  saintly  veil  of  maiden  white  to  throw ; 
Confounded  that  her  Maker's  eyes 
Should  look  so  near  upon  her  foul  deformities. 

III. 

But  He,  her  fears  to  cease, 
Sent  down  the  meek-eyed  Peace ; 

She,  crowned  with  olive  green,  came  softly 
sHding 
Down  through  the  turning  sphere, 
His  ready  harbinger, 

With  turtle  wing  the  amorous  clouds  divid- 
ing; 
And  waving  wide  her  myrtle  wand, 
She  strikes  a  universal  peace  through  sea  and 
land. 

IV. 

No  war,  or  battle's  sounds 
Was  heard  the  world  around; 

[  192  ] 


^     CHRIST  .  THE  .  PRINCE  •  OF  •  LIGHT    |^ 

The  idle  spear  and  shield  were  high  uphung, 
The  hooked  chariot  stood 
Unstained  with  hostile  blood, 

The  trumpet  spake  not  to  the  armed  throng. 
And  kings  sat  still,  with  awful  eye. 
As  if  they  surely  knew  their  sovereign  Lord 
was  by. 

V. 

But  peaceful  was  the  night 
Wherein  the  Prince  of  light 

His  reign  of  peace  upon  the  earth  began : 
The  winds,  with  wonder  whist, 
Smoothly  the  waters  kist, 

Whispering  new  joys  to  the  mild  ocean, 
Who  now  hath  quite  forgot  to  rave. 
While   birds    of    calm    sit    brooding    on    the 
charmed  wave. 

VI. 

The  stars,  with  deep  amaze. 
Stand  fixed  in  steadfast  gaze, 

Bending  one  way  their  precious  influence, 
And  will  not  take  their  flight. 
For  all  the  morning  light. 

Or  Lucifer,  that  often  warned  them  thence ; 

[193] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

But  in  their  glimmering  orbs  did  glow 
Until  their  Lord  Himself  bespake,  and  bade 
them  go. 

VII. 

And  though  the  shady  gloom 
Had  given  day  her  room, 

The  sun  himself  withheld  his  wonted  speed, 
And  hid  his  head  for  shame, 
As  his  inferior  flame 

The  new  enlightened  world  no  more  should 

need; 
He  saw  a  greater  sun  appear 
Than  his  bright  throne  or  burning  axletree 

could  bear. 

VIIL 

The  shepherds  on  the  lawn, 
Or  e'er  the  point  of  dawn, 

Sat  simply  chatting  in  a  rustic  row ; 
Full  little  thought  they  then 
That  the  mighty  Pan 

Was  kindly  come  to  live  with  them  below ; 
Perhaps  their  loves,  or  else  their  sheep, 
Was  all  that  did  their  silly  thoughts  so  busy 
keep. 

[194] 


^  heaven's  .  NEW-BORN  •  HEIR  ^ 

IX. 

When  such  music  sweet 

Their  hearts  and  ears  did  greet, 

As  never  by  mortal  finger  strook, 
Divinely-warbled  voice 
Answering  the  stringed  noise, 

As  all  their  souls  in  blissful  rapture  took : 
The  air,  such  pleasure  loath  to  lose, 
With    thousand    echoes    still    prolongs    each 
heavenly  close. 

X. 

Nature,  that  heard  such  sound, 
Beneath  the  hollow  round 

Of  Cynthia's  seat,  the  airy  region  thrilling. 
Now  was  almost  won 
To  think  her  part  was  done, 

And  that  her  reign  had  here  its  last  fulfilling. 
She  knew  such  harmony  alone 
Could  hold  all  heaven  and  earth  in  happier 
union. 

XI. 

At  last  surrounds  their  sight 
A  globe  of  circular  light, 

[195] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

That  with  long  beams  the  shamefaced  night 
arrayed ; 
The  helmed  Cherubim, 
And  sworded  ^eraphim, 

Are  seen  in  glittering  ranks,  with  wings  dis- 
played, 
Harping  in  loud  and  solemn  quire, 
With  unexpressive  notes,   to   Heaven's  new- 
born Heir. 

XII. 

Such  music  (as  'tis  said) 
Before  was  never  made, 

But  when  of  old  the  sons  of  morning  sung, 
While  the  Creator  great 
His  constellations  set, 

And    the    well-balanced    world    on    hinges 
hung. 
And  cast  the  dark  foundations  deep, 
And  bid  the  weltering  waves  their  cozy  chan- 
nel keep. 

xni. 

Ring  out,  ye  crystal  spheres, 
Once  bless  our  human  ears, 

[196] 


^  CHRIST  .  OUR  .  REDEEMER  ^ 

If  ye  have  power  to  touch  our  senses  so; 
And  let  your  silver  chime 
Move  in  melodious  time, 

And  let  the  base  of  heaven's   deep  organ 
blow ; 
And  with  your  ninefold  harmony 
Make  up  full  consort  to  the  angelic  symphony 


XIV. 

For  if  such  holy  song 

Inwrap  our  fancy  long, 

Time  will  run  back^  and  fetch  the  age  of 
gold; 

And  speckled  Vanity 

Will  sicken  soon  and  die, 

And    leprous    Sin    will    melt    from    earthly 
mould ; 

And  Hell  itself  will  pass  away, 

And  leave  her  dolorous  mansions  to  the  peer- 
ing day. 

XV. 

Yea,  Truth  and  Justice  then 
Will  down  return  to  men, 

[197] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Orbed  in  a  rainbow ;  and,  like  glories  wear- 
ing, 
Mercy  will  sit  between, 

Throned  in  celestial  sheen, 
With  radiant  feet  the  tissued  clouds  down 
steering ; 
And  heaven,  as  at  some  festival. 
Will  open  wide  the  gates  of  her  high  palace 
hall. 

XVL 

But  wisest  Fate  says,  No^ 
This  must  not  yet  be  so; 

The  Babe  yet  lies  in  smiling  infancy, 
That  on  the  bitter  Cross 
Must  redeem  our  loss, 

So  both  Himself  and  us  to  glorify; 
Yet  first  to  those  ychained  in  sleep 
The   wakeful   trump   of   doom   must  thunder 
through  the  deep. 

XVII. 

With  such  a  horrid  clang 
As  on  Mount  Sinai  rang, 

[198] 


^     THE  .  FULL  .  AND  •  PERFECT  •  BLISS    ^ 

While  the  red  fire  and  smoldering  clouds 
outbrake, 
The  aged  earth,  aghast 
With  terror  of  that  blast, 

Shall  from  the  surface  to  the  centre  shake. 
When,  at  the  world's  last  session, 
The  dreadful  Judge  in  middle  air  shall  spread 
His  throne. 


XVIII. 

And  then,  at  last,  our  bliss 
Full  and  perfect  is, 

But  now  begins;  for,  from  this  happy  day. 
The  old  Dragon  under  ground, 
In  straiter  limits  bound, 

Not  half  so  far  casts  his  usurped  sway  ; 
And,  wroth  to  see  his  kingdom  fail. 
Swinges  the  scaly  horror  of  his  folded  tail. 


XIX. 

The  oracles  are  dumb ; 
No  voice  or  hideous  hum 

[199] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Runs  through  the  arched  roof  in  words  de- 
ceiving. 
Apollo,  from  his  shrine. 
Can  no  more  divine — 

With  hollow  shriek  the  steep  of  Delphos 
leaving. 
No  nightly  trance  or  breathed  spell 
Inspires  the  pale-eyed  priest  from  the  prophetic 
cell. 

XX. 

The  lonely  mountains  o'er. 
And  the  resounding  shore, 

A  voice  of  weeping  heard,  and  loud  lament; 
From  haunted  spring  and  dale, 
Edged  with  poplar  pale, 

The  parting  Genius  is  with  sighing  sent; 
With  flower-inwoven  tresses  torn. 
The    Nymphs    in    twilight    shade    of   tangled 
thickets  mourn. 

XXI. 

In  consecrated  earth, 
And  on  the  holy  hearth, 

[  200  ] 


^  THE  .  DESTROYER  •  OF  •  IDOLS  ^ 

The  Lars  and  Lemures  moan  with  midnight 
plaint ; 
In  urns  and  altars  round, 
A  drear  and  dying  sound 

Affrights    the     Flamens     at    their     service 
quaint ; 
And  the  chill  marble  seems  to  sweat, 
While  each  peculiar  Power  foregoes  his  won- 
ted seat. 

XXIL 

Peor  and  Baalim 

Forsake  their  temples  dim, 

With  that  twice-battered  god  of  Palestine ; 
And  mooned  Ashtaroth, 
Heaven's  queen  and  mother  both, 

Now  sits  not  girt  with  tapers'  holy  shine  ; 
The  Lybic  Hammon  shrinks  his  horn ; 
In  vain  the  Tyrian  maids  their  wounded  Tham- 
muz  mourn. 

XXIII. 

And  sullen  Moloch,  fled, 
Hath  left  in  shadows  dread 

[20T] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

His  burning  idol,  all  of  blackest  hue ; 
In  vain  with  cymbals'  ring 
They  call  the  grisly  king, 

In  dismal  dance  about  the  furnace  blue : 
The  brutish  gods  of  Nile  as  fast, 
Isis  and  Orus,  and  the  dog  Anubis,  haste. 

XXIV. 

Nor  is  Osiris  seen 

In  ]\Iemphian  grove  or  green, 

Trampling  the  unshowered  grass  with  low- 

ings  loud ; 
Nor  can  he  be  at  rest 
Within  his  sacred  chest ; 

Nought   but    profoundest   hell    can    be    his 

shroud ; 
In  vain  with  timbrelled  anthems  dark 
The  sable-stoled  sorcerers  bear  his  worshipped 

ark. 

XXV. 

He  feels  from  Judah's  land 
The  dreaded  Infant's  hand; 

[  202  ] 


yZ^    THE  .  HIGHEST  •  IN  •  THE  •  MAXGER   ^ 

The  rays  of  Bethlehem  blind  his  dusky  eyn ; 
Xor  all  the  gods  beside 
Longer  dare  abide ; 

Not  Typhon  huge  ending  in  snaky  twine : 
Our  Babe,  to  show  His  Godhead  true, 
Can    in    His    swaddling    bands    control    the 
damned  crew\ 

XXVL 

So  w^hen  the  sun,  in  bed, 
Curtained  wath  cloudy  red. 

Pillows  his  chin  upon  an  orient  w^ave, 
The  flocking  shadows  pale 
Troop  to  the  infernal  jail, 

Each    fettered   ghost    slips    to    his    several 

grave ; 
And  the  yellow-skirted  Fayes 
Fly  after  the  night-steeds,  leaving  their  moon- 

foved  maze. 

XXVII. 

But,  see,  the  Virgin  blest 
Hath  laid  her  Babe  to  rest; 

[203] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Time  is  our  tedious  song  should  here  have 
ending ; 
Heaven's  youngest-teemed  star 
Hath  fixed  her  polished  car, 

Her  sleeping  Lord  with  handmaid  lamp  at- 
tending ; 
And  all  about  the  courtly  stable 
Bright-harnessed  angels  sit  in  order  service- 
able. 

John  Milton. 


Of  the  Epiphany 

FAIR  Eastern  Star,  that  art  ordained  to  run 
Before  the  sages,  to  the  rising  sun. 
Here  cease  thy  course,  and  wonder  that  the 

cloud 
Of  this  poor  stable  can  thy  Maker  shroud: 
Ye  heavenly  bodies  glory  to  be  bright, 
And  are  esteemed  as  ye  are  rich  in  light, 
But  here  on  earth  is  taught  a  different  way, 
Since  under  this  low  roof  the  Highest  lay. 

[204] 


^  FAIR  .  EASTERN  •  STAR  |^ 

Jerusalem  erects  her  stately  towers, 
Displays  her  windows  and  adorns  her  bowers ; 
Yet   there    thou   must    not   cast   a   trembling 

spark, 
Let  Herod's  palace  still  continue  dark; 
Each  school  and  synagogue  thy  force  repels, 
There  Pride  enthroned  in  misty  error  dwells ; 
The  temple,  where  the  priests  maintain  their 

quire. 
Shall  taste  no  beam  of  thy  celestial  fire, 
While  this  weak  cottage  all  thy  splendor  takes  : 
A  joyful  gate  of  every  chink  it  makes. 
Here  shines  no  golden  roof,  no  ivory  stair, 
No  king  exalted  in  a  stately  chair, 
Girt  with  attendants,  or  by  heralds  styled, 
But  straw  and  hay  enwrap  a  speechless  Child- 
Yet  Sabse's  lords  before  this  Babe  unfold 
Their  treasures,  offering  incense,  myrrh  and 

gold. 

The  crib  becomes  an  altar ;  therefore  dies 

No  ox  nor  sheep ;  for  in  their  fodder  lies 

The  Prince  of  Peace,  who,  thankful  for  His 

bed, 
Destroys  those  rites  in  which  their  blood  was 

shed: 

[205] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  quintessence  of  earth  He  takes,  and  fees, 
And   precious    gums    distilled    from    weeping 

trees ; 
Rich  metals  and  sweet  odors  now  declare 
The  glorious  blessings  which  His  laws  prepare, 
To  clear  us  from  the  base  and  loathsome  flood 
Of  sense,  and  make  us  fit  for  angels'  food, 
Who  lift  to  God  for  us  the  holy  smoke 
Of  fervent  prayers  with  which  we  Him  invoke, 
And  try  our  actions  in  the  searching  fire, 
By  which  the  seraphims  our  lips  inspire : 
No  muddy  dross  pure  minerals  shall  infect, 
We  shall  exhale  our  vapors  up  direct; 
No  storm  shall  cross,  nor  glittering  lights  de- 
face 
Perpetual  sighs  which  seek  a  happy  place. 
Sir  John  Beaumont. 


And  They  Laid  Him  in  a  Manger 

HAPPY  crib,  that  wert  alone 
To  my  God,  bed,  cradle,  throne ! 
Whilst  thy  glorious  vileness  I 
View  with  divine  fancy's  eye, 

[206] 


^  THE  .  KING  •  OF  .  KINGS  ^ 

Sordid  filth  seems  all  the  cost, 
State,  and  splendor,  crowns  do  boast. 
See  heaven's  sacred  majesty 
Humbled  beneath  poverty; 
Swaddled  up  in  homely  rags, 
On  a  bed  of  straw  and  flags ! 
He  whose  hands  the  heavens  display'd, 
And  the  world's  foundations  laid, 
From  the  world  almost  exiled, 
Of  all  ornaments  despoil'd. 
Perfumes  bathe  Him  not,  new-born, 
Persian  mantles  not  adorn ; 
Nor  do  the  rich  roofs  look  bright. 
With  the  jasper's  orient  light. 
Where,  O  royal  Infant,  be 
Th'  ensigns  of  Thy  majesty; 
Thy  Sire's  equalizing  state; 
And  Thy  sceptre  that  rules  fate? 
Where's  Thy  angel-guarded  throne. 
Whence  Thy  laws  Thou  didst  make  known- 
Laws  which  heaven,  earth,  hell  obey'd  ? 
These,  ah !  these  aside  He  laid ; 
Would  the  emblem  be — of  pride 
By  humility  outvied? 

Sir  Edward  Sherburne. 

[207] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


An  Ode  to  the  Birth  of  Our  Savior 

IN  Numbers,  and  but  these  few, 
I  sing  Thy  Birth,  O  Jesu ! 
Thou  prettie  Babie,  born  here, 
With  superabundant  scorn  here: 
Who  for  Thy  Princely  Port  here, 
Hadst  for  Thy  place 
Of  Birth  a  base 
Out-stable  for  Thy  Court  here. 

Instead  of  neat  Inclosures 
Of  interwoven  Osiers ; 
Instead  of  fragrant  Posies 
Of  Daffodils,  and  Rosies ; 
Thy  cradle.  Kingly  Stranger, 

As  Gospel  tells, 

Was  nothing  els, 
But,  here,  a  homely  manger. 

But  we  with  Silks  (not  Crewels), 
With  sundry  precious  Jewels, 
And  Lily-work  will  dresse  Thee; 
And  as  we  dispossess  Thee 

[208] 


^  GLORY  .  TO  .  glory's  •  KING  ^ 

Of  clouts  wee'l  make  a  chamber, 
Sweet  Babe,  for  Thee, 
Of  Ivorie, 

And  plaister'd  round  with  Amber. 

The  Jewes  they  did  disdaine  Thee, 
But  we  will  entertaine  Thee 
With  Glories  to  await  here 
Upon  Thy  Princely  State  here, 
And  more  for  love,  then  pittie. 
From  yeere  to  yeere 
Wee'l  make  Thee,  here, 
A  Free-born  of  our  Citie. 

Robert  Herrick. 
C'His  Noble  Numbers/') 


The  Shepherd's  Song 


SWEET  music,  sweeter  far 
Than  any  song  is  sweet : 
Sweet  music,  heavenly  rare. 
Mine  ears,  O  peers,  doth  greet. 

[209] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

You  gentle  flocks,  whose  fleeces  pearled  with 
dew, 
Resemble  heaven,  whom  golden  drops  make 
bright. 
Listen,  Oh,  listen,  now.  Oh,  not  to  you 
Our   pipes   make   sport   to   shorten   weary 
night : 
But  voices  most  divine 

Make  blissful  harmony; 
Voices  that  seem  to  shine, 
For  what  else  clears  the  sky? 
Tunes  can  we  hear,  but  not  the  singers  see, 
The  tunes  divine,  and  so  the  singers  be. 


Lo,  how  the  firmament 

Within  an  azure  fold 
The  flock  of  stars  hath  pent. 
That  we  might  them  behold ! 
Yet  from  their  beams  proceedeth  not  this  light, 
Nor  can  their  crystals  such  reflection  give. 
What,  then,  doth  make  the  element  so  bright  ? 
The  heavens  are  come  down  upon  earth  to 
live. 

But  hearken  to  the  song, 
Glory  to  glory's  King, 

[210] 


^        HE  .  LOVES  .  THAT  .  SERVE  .  HIM        )^ 

And  peace  all  men  among, 
These  quiristers  do  sing. 
Angels  they  are,  as  also  (shepherds)  He 
Whom  in  our  fear  we  do  admire  to  see. 


Let  not  amazement  blind 

Your  souls,  said  He,  annoy : 
To  you  and  all  mankind 
My  message  bringeth  joy. 
For  lo!   the  world's  great  Shepherd  now  is 
born, 
A  blessed  Babe,  an  Infant  full  of  power : 
After  long  night  uprisen  in  the  morn, 
Renowning  Bethlem  in  the  Saviour. 
Sprung  is  the  perfect  day, 
By  prophets  seen  afar; 
Sprung  is  the  mirthful  May, 
Which  winter  cannot  mar. 
In  David's  city  doth  this  Sun  appear 
Clouded  in  flesh,  yet,  shepherds,  sit  we  here? 

Edmund  Bolton. 


[211] 


^  THE  •  CHRISTAIAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


The  Shepherds 

SWEET,    harmless    lives!    [up] on    whose 
holy  leisure 
Waits  Innocence  and  pleasure — 
Whose   leaders   to   those   pastures   and   clear 
springs 
Were  Patriarchs,  Saints,  and  Kings : 
How  happened  it  that  in  the  dead  of  night 

You,  only,  saw  true  light, 
While  Palestine  was  fast  asleep,  and  lay 

Without  one  thought  of  Day  ? 
Was  it  because  those  first  and  blessed  swains 

Were  pilgrims  on  those  plains 
When  they  received  the  Promise,  for  which 
now 
'Twas  there  first  shown  to  you? 
Tis  true  He  loves  that  dust  whereon  they  go 

That  serve  Him  here  below. 
And  therefore  might,  for  memory  of  those, 

His  love  there  first  disclose; 
But  wretched    Salem,  once  His    love,    must 
now 
No  voice  nor  vision  know: — 

[212] 


^  ADORE  .  THE  •  LAMB  •  OF  •  GOD  ^ 

Her  stately  piles,   with  all  their  height  and 
pride, 

Now  languished  and  died. 
And  Bethlem's  humble  cots  above  them  stept, 

While  all  her  seers  slept; 
Her  cedar,  fir,  hew'd  stones  and  gold,  were  all 

Polluted  through  their  fall. 
And  those  once  sacred  mansions  were  now 

Mere  emptiness  and  show. 
This  made  the  Angel  call  at  reeds  and  thatch : 

Yet  where  the  shepherds  watch. 
And   God's   own   lodging — though  He  could 
not  lack — 

To  be  a  common  rack. 
No  costly  pride,  no  soft-clothed  luxury 

In  those  thin  cells  could  lie; 
Each  stirring  wind  and  storm  blew  through 
their  cots, 

Which  never  harbored  plots; 
Only  Content  and  Love  and  humble  joys 

Lived  there  without  all  noise; 
Perhaps  some  harmless  cares  for  the  next  day 

Did  in  their  bosoms  play, 
As   where   to    lead   their    sheep,  what    silent 
nook. 

What  springs  or  shades  to  look; 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X( 

But  that  was  all :  And  now  with  gladsome 
care 
They  for  the  town  prepare; 
They  leave  their  flock,  and  in  a  busy  talk 

i\ll  toward  Bethlem  walk 
To  see  their  souls'  great  Shepherd,  Who  w^as 
come 
To  bring  all  stragglers  home ; 
Where  now  they  find  Him  out,  and,  taught 
before. 
That  Lamb  of  God  adore — 
That    Lamb    Whose    days    great    kings    and 
prophets  wish'd 
And  long'd  to  see,  but  miss'd. 
The  first  light  they  beheld  was  bright  and  gay, 

And  turn'd  their  night  to  day; — 
But  to  this  later  light  they  saw^  in  Him 
Their  day  was  dark  and  dim. 

Henry  Vaughan. 


[214] 


^  GOD  .  WITH  .  US  .  WAS  •  BORN  ^ 


The  True  Christmas 

SO,  stick  up  ivie  and  the  bays, 
And  then  restore  the  heathen  ways. 
Green  will  remind  you  of  the  spring, 
Though  this  great  day  denies  the  thing; 
And  mortifies  the  earth,  and  all 
But  your  wild  revels,  and  loose  hall. 
Could  you  wear  flowers,  and  roses  strow 
Blushing  upon  your  breast's  warm  snow. 
That  very  dress  your  lightness  will 
Rebuke,  and  wither  at  the  will. 
The  brightness  of  this  day  we  owe 
Not  unto  music,  masque  nor  showe ; 
Nor  gallant  furniture,  nor  plate, 
But  to  the  manger's  mean  estate. 
His  life  while  here,  as  v/ell  as  birth, 
Was  but  a  check  to  pomp  and  mirth ; 
And  all  man's  greatness  you  may  see 
Condemned  by  his  humility. 

Then  leave  your  open  house  and  noise, 
To  welcome  him  with  holy  joys. 
And  the  poor  shepherds'  watchfulness  ; 
Whom  light  and  hymns   from  heaven  did 
bless. 

[215] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

What  you  abound  with,  cast  abroad 
To  those  that  want,  and  ease  your  loade. 
Who  empties  thus  will  bring  more  in ; 
But  riot  is  both  loss  and  sin. 
Dress  finely  what  comes  not  in  sight, 
And  then  you  keep  your  Christmas  right. 
Henry  Vaughan. 
(''Thalia  Rediviva/') 


Gloria  in   Excelsis 

AS  on  the  night  before  the  happy  morn, 
A  blessed  angel  unto  shepherds  told 
Where  (in  a  stable)  He  was  poorly  born, 
Whom  nor  the  earth  nor  heaven  of  heavens 
can  hold : 
Through  Bethlehem  rung 

This  new^s  at  their  return ; 
Yea,  angels  sung 

That  God  with  us  was  born ; 
And  they  made  mirth  because  we  should  not 
mourn. 

[216] 


^         THE  .  GOD  .  OF  •  LOVE  •  IS  •  COME        >^ 

Their  angel  carol  sing  we  then, 
To  God  on  high  all  glory  be, 
For  peace  on  earth  bestoweth  He, 

And  sheweth  favour  unto  men. 


This  favour  Christ  vouchsafed  for  our  sake ; 

To  buy  us  thrones,  He  in  a  manger  lay ; 
Our  weaknes  took,  that  we  His  strength  might 
take; 
And  was  disrobed  that  He  might  us  array ; 
Our  flesh  He  wore. 

Our  sin  to  wear  away ; 
Our  curse  He  bore. 
That  we  escape  it  may ; 
And  wept  for  us  that  we  might  sing  for  aye. 
With  angels  therefore,  sing  again. 
To  God  on  high  all  glory  be, 
For  peace  on  earth  bestoweth  He, 
And  sheweth  favour  unto  men. 

George  Wither. 


[217] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^Z^ 


Psalm  for  Christmas  Day 

FAIREST  of  morning  lights  appear, 
Thou  blest  and  gaudy  day, 
On  which  was  born  our  Saviour  dear; 
Arise  and  come  away ! 


This  day  prevents  His  day  of  doom ; 

His  mercy  now  is  nigh ; 
The  mighty  God  of  Love  is  come, 

The  Dayspring  from  on  high ! 


Behold  the  great  Creator  makes 
Himself  an  house  of  clay, 

A  robe  of  Mrgin-flesh  He  takes, 
\Miich  He  will  wear  for  ave. 


Hark!  hark!  the  wise  Eternal  Word 
Like  a  weak  infant  cries : 

In  form  of  servant  is  the  Lord, 
And  God  in  cradle  lies. 

[218] 


^        ETERXITY  .  SHUT  •  IX  •  A  •  SPAN        ^ 

This  wonder  struck  the  world  amazed, 
It  shook  the  starry  frame ; 

Squadrons  of  Spirits  stood  and  gazed, 
Then  down  in  troops  they  came. 

Glad  Shepherds  ran  to  view  this  sight : 

A  choir  of  Angels  sings ; 
And  Eastern  Sages  with  delight 

Adore  this  King  of  kings. 

Join  then,  all  hearts  that  are  not  stone, 

And  all  our  voices  prove, 
To  celebrate  this  Holy  One, 

The  God  of  peace  and  love. 

Thomas  Pestel. 


At  Bethlehem 

COME,  we  shepherds,  whose  blest  sight 
Hath  met  Love's  noon  in  Nature's  night : 
Come,  lift  we  up  our  loftier  song, 
And  w^ake  the  Sun,  that  lies  too  long. 

[219] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )^ 

Gloomy  night  embraced  the  place 

Where  the  noble  Infant  lay : 
The  Babe  look'd  up,  and  show'd  His  face — 

In  spite  of  darkness,  it  was  day. 
It  was  Thy  day,  Sweet !  and  did  rise 
Not  from  the  East,  but  from  Thine  eyes. 

We  saw  Thee  in  Thy  balmy  nest, 
Young  dawn  of  our  eternal  Day ; 

We  saw  Thine  eyes  break  from  their  East 
And  chase  the  trembling  shades  away; 

We  saw  Thee  (and  we  blest  the  sight), 

We  saw  Thee  by  Thine  own  sweet  light. 

Welcome,  all  wonders  in  one  sight ! 

Eternity  shut  in  a  span ! 
Summer  in  Winter !    Day  in  Night ! 

Heaven  in  Earth !  and  God  in  man ! 
Great  Little  One,  Whose  all-embracing  birth 
Lifts    Earth    to    Heaven,    stoops    Heaven   to 
Earth. 

Richard  Crashaw. 


[  ^^o] 


^  TO-DAY  •  A  .  SAVIOR  •  IS  •  BORN  }^ 


The  Nativity 

SHEPHERDS,  rejoice,  lift  up  your  eyes, 
And  send  your  fears  away ; 
News  from  the  region  of  the  skies ! 
Salvation's  born  to-day. 

''Jesus,  the  God  whom  Angels  fear, 
Comes  down  to  dwell  with  you; 
To-day  He  makes  His  entrance  here, 
But  not  as  monarchs  do. 

*'No  gold,  nor  purple  swaddling-bands, 
Nor  royal  shining  things ; 
A  manger  for  His  cradle  stands. 
And  holds  the  King  of  kings. 

"Go,  shepherds,  where  the  Infant  lies, 
And  see  His  humble  throne: 
With  tears  of  joy  in  all  your  eyes 
Go,  shepherds,  kiss  the  Son." 

Thus  Gabriel  sang;  and  straight  around 

The  heavenly  armies  throng; 
They  tune  their  harps  to  lofty  sound. 

And  thus  conclude  the  song: 

[221] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

"Glory  to  God  that  reigns  above, 
Let  peace  surround  the  Earth ; 
Mortals  shall  know  their  Maker's  love 
At  their  Redeemer's  birth." 

Lord !  and  shall  angels  have  their  songs, 

And  men  no  tunes  to  raise  ? 
O  may  we  lose  these  useless  tongues 

When  they  forget  to  praise! 

Glory  to  God  that  reigns  above. 

That  pitied  us,  forlorn! 
We  join  to  sing  our  Maker's  love — 

For  there's  a  Saviour  born. 

Isaac  Watts. 


Christmas  Eve 

IT  was  the  death-time  of  the  year — 
Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
How  chill,  how  keen  the  stars  appear ! 
The  frost  is  on  each  gray  grass-spear. 
And  frozen  white  are  river  and  mere. 

[  222  ] 


J 


^  GLORIA  •  IN  .  EXCESIS  •  DEO  !  ^ 

All  human  folk  are  housed  warm — 

Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
With  light  and  fire  'gainst  night  and  storm. 
And  little  children,  safe  from  harm, 
Each  in  its  tender  mother's  arm. 


Like  the  swan's  plume  the  snow^s  are  spread- 
Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
With  Christ's  dear  mother  lacking  bed. 
All  doors  are  shut  against  her  need, 
Except  the  humble  cattle-shed. 


Shake  down  the  grass  for  her  to  lie — 

Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
And  bid  the  quiet  beasts  draw  nigh. 
All  Heaven  shall  now  abase  its  eye, 
Nor  view  the  Birth  so  Heavenly. 


Alone  upon  that  holy  ground — 

Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
The  ass  and  oxen  knelt  in  swound. 
While  Bedlam  lay  in  slumber  bound, 
The  ass,  the  ox,  were  worthy  found. 

[  223  ] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Before  the  Kings  and  Shepherds  these — 

Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
And  Powers  and  Principalities. 
With  ass  and  oxen  on  their  knees, 
He  doth  exalt  all  lowliness, 


Oh,  dull  and  sin-clogged  hearts  of  men — 

Sing,  Gloria  in  Excelsis  Deo! 
With  frost  upon  the  window  pane, 
God  save  ye,  merry  gentlemen: 
For  Christ,  Our  Lord,  is  born  again. 

Katharine  Tynan. 


[224] 


CHRISTMAS    CAROLS 


WHEN  Christ  was  born  of  Mary  free 
In  Bethlehem  in  that  fair  citie, 
Angels  sungen  with  mirth  and  glee, 
In   Excelsis   Gloria! 

Herdsmen  beheld  these  angels  bright 
To  them  appeared  with  great  light, 
And  said,  God's  son  is  born  this  night, 
In  Excelsis   Gloria! 

This  King  is  comen  to  save  kind 
[Even]   in  Scripture  as  we  find, 
[There]  fore  this  song  have  we  in  mind, 
In   Excelsis    Gloria! 

[Then,  dear]  Lord,  for  Thy  great  grace 
[Grant  us]  in  bliss  to  see  Thy  face, 
Where  we  may  sing  to  Thee  solace, 
In   Excelsis    Gloria! 

Harleian  MS,,  A.D.  1500. 


[225] 


1^        SIXG  •  PRAISES  •  TO  •  OUR  •  LORD        ^ 


The   First  Nowell 

THE  first  Nowell  the  Angel  did  say, 
Was  to  three  poor  shepherds  in  fields  as 
they  lay ; 
In  fields  where  they  lay  keeping  their  sheep 
In  a  cold  winter's  night  that  was  so  deep. 
Nowell,  Nowell,  Nowell,  Nowell, 
Born  is  the  King  of  Israel. 

They  looked  up  and  saw  a  star 
Shining  in  the  East  beyond  them  far, 
And  to  the  earth  it  gave  great  light, 
And  so  it  continued  both  day  and  night. 

Nowell,  Nowell — 

And  by  the  light  of  that  same  star. 
Three  Wise  Men  came  from  country  far. 
To  seek  for  a  King  was  their  intent, 
And  to  follow  the  star  wherever  it  went. 

Nowell,  Nowell — 

The  star  drew  night  to  the  north-west, 
O'er  Bethlehem  it  took  rest, 

[227] 


|X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

And  there  it  did  both  stop  and  stay 
Right  over  the  place  where  Jesus  lay. 

Nowell,  Nowell — 

Then  did  they  know  assuredly 
Within  that  house  the  King  did  lie ; 
One  entered  in  then  for  to  see 
And  found  the  babe  in  poverty. 

Nowell,  Nowell — 

Then  entered  in  those  Wise  Men  three 
Most  reverently  upon  their  knee, 
And  offered  there  in  His  presence 
Both  gold,  and  myrrh,  and  frankincense. 

Nowell,  Nowell— 

Between  an  ox  stall  and  an  ass. 
This  child  truly  there  born  He  was ; 
For  w^ant  of  clothing  they  did  Him  lay 
In  the  manger,  among  the  hay. 

Nowell,  Nowell — 

Then  let  us  all  with  one  accord 

Sing  praises  to  our  heavenly  Lord, 

That  hath  made  heaven  and  earth  of  nought, 

And  with  his  blood  mankind  hath  bought. 

Nowell,  Nowell — 

[228] 


^  LET  .  ALL  .  REJOICE  •  AMAIN  ^ 

If  we  in  our  time  shall  do  well, 

We  shall  be  free  from  death  and  Hell, 

For  God  hath  prepared  for  us  all 

A  resting-place  in  general. 

Nowell,  Nowell,  Nowell,  Nowell, 
Born  is  the  King  of  Israel. 

Old  Ccr  I 


I  Saw  Three  Ships  Come  Sailing  In 

1SAW  three  ships  come  sailing  in 
On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 
I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  in 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

And  what  was  in  those  ships  all  three 
On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 

And  what  was  in  those  ships  all  three 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning? 

Our  Saviour  Christ  and  his  lady. 

On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 

Our  Saviour  Christ  and  his  lady, 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

[229] 


|X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Pray  whither  sailed  those  ships  all  three 
On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 

Pray  whither  sailed  those  ships  all  three 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning? 

O  they  sailed  into  Bethlehem 

On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 
O  they  sailed  into  Bethlehem 

On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

And  all  the  bells  on  earth  shall  ring 
On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 

And  all  the  bells  on  earth  shall  ring 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

And  all  the  angels  in  heaven  shall  sing 
On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 

And  all  the  angels  in  heaven  shall  sing 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

And  all  the  souls  on  earth  shall  sing 
On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 

And  all  the  souls  on  earth  shall  sing 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

[230] 


^    TIDINGS  .  OF  .  COMFORT  •  AND  •  JOY    ^ 

Then  let  us  all  rejoice  amain 

On  Christmas  day,  on  Christmas  day ; 
Then  let  us  all  rejoice  amain 

On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

Anonymous, 


God  Rest  you,  Merry  Gentlemen 

GOD  rest  you,  merry  gentlemen, 
Let  nothing  you  dismay, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 

Was  born  upon  this  day 
To  save  us  all  from  Satan's  power 
When  we  were  gone  astray. 
O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 

In  Bethlehem  in  Jewry 

This  blessed  Babe  was  born, 

And  laid  within  a  manger 
Upon  this  blessed  morn ; 

The  which  his  mother  Mary 
Nothing  did  take  in  scorn. 

[231] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 

From  God  our  Heavenly  Father 

A  blessed  angel  came. 
And  unto  certain  shepherds 

Brought  tidings  of  the  same, 
How  that  in  Bethlehem  was  born 
The  Son  of  God  by  name. 

O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 

Fear  not,  then  said  the  angel, 

Let  nothing  you  affright. 
This  day  is  born  a  Saviour 

Of  virtue,  power,  and  might; 
So  frequently  to  vanquish  all 
The  friends  of  Satan  quite. 
O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 

The  Shepherds  at  those  tidings 
Rejoiced  much  in  mind, 

[232] 


^  SING  •  BYBY  .  LULLAY  ^ 

And  left  their  flocks  a-feeding 
In  tempest,  storm  and  wind, 
And  went  to  Bethlehem  straightway, 
This  blessed  Babe  to  find. 

O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 


But  when  to  Bethlehem  they  came, 

Whereat  this  infant  lay, 
They  found  him  in  a  manger 
Where  oxen  feed  on  hay; 
His  mother  Mary  kneeling 
Unto  the  Lord  did  pray. 

O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 


Now  to  the  Lord  sing  praises, 
All  you  within  this  place, 

And  with  true  love  and  brotherhood 
Each  other  now  embrace ; 

This  holy  tide  of  Christmas 
All  others  doth  deface. 

[233] 


|X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

O  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day. 

Anonymous- 


This  Endris  Night 


r 


^HIS  endris^  night 
I  saw  a  sight, 
A  star  as  bright  as  day; 
And  ever  among 
A  maiden  sung, 

Lullay,  byby,  lullay. 
This  lovely  lady  sat  and  sang,  and  to  her  childe 

said: 
''My  son,  my  brother,  my  father  dear,  why  liest 
thou  thus  in  hayd?^ 
My  sweete  brid,^ 
Thus  it  is  betid 

Though  thou  be  King  veray ; 
But,  nevertheless, 
I  will  not  cease 

To  sing  byby,  lullay." 


I  last;   2  hay;   3  bird. 

[234] 


^       LET  .  ALL  .  FULFILL  .  THY  •  WILL       )^ 

The  child  then  spake ;  in  his  talking  he  to  his 

mother  said : 
"I  bekid*  am  king,  in  crib  though  I  be  laid ; 
For  angels  bright 
Down  to  me  light, 

Thou  knowest  it  is  no  nay. 
And  of  that  sight 
Thou  mayest  be  light, 
To  sing  byby,  lullay." 

**Now,  sweet  son,  since  thou  art  king,  why  art 

thou  laid  in  stall? 
Why  not  thou  ordain  thy  bedding  in  some 
great  King's  hall? 
Methinketh  it  is  right 
That  king  or  knight 

Should  be  in  good  array; 
And  then  among 
It  were  no  wrong 
To  sing  byby,  lullay." 

''Mary,  mother,  I  am  thy  child,  though  I  be 

laid  in  stall; 
Lords  and  dukes  shall  worship  me,  and  so  shall 

kinges  all. 

4  known  or  signified. 

[235] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Ye  shall  well  see 
That  kinges  three 

Shall  come  on  the  twelfth  day; 
For  this  behest 
Give  me  thy  breast, 

And  sing  byby,  lullay." 

*'Now  tell  me^  sweet  son,  I  thee  pray,  thou  art 

my  love  and  dear, 
How  should  I  keep  thee  to  thy  pay,^  and  make 

thee  glad  of  cheer? 
For  all  thy  will 
I  would  fulfil. 

Thou  weet'st  full  well  in  fay.^ 
And  for  all  this 
I  will  thee  kiss, 

And  sing  byby,  lullay." 

"My  dear  mother,  when  time  it  be,  take  thou 

me  up  aloft, 
And  set  me  upon  thy  knee,  and  handle  me  full 
soft. 
And  in  thy  arm 
Thou  wilt  me  warm, 

5  content;  6  faith. 

[236] 


^     EARTH  .  WITH  •  JOY  •  IS  •  RINGING     ^ 

And  keep  night  and  day; 
If  I  weep, 
And  may  not  sleep, 

Thou  sing  byby,  lullay/' 

''Now,  sweet  son,  since  it  is  so,  all  things  are 

at  thy  will, 
I  pray  thee  grant  to  me  a  boon,  if  it  be  right 
and  skill. 
That  child  or  man. 
That  will  and  can. 

Be  merry  upon  my  day ; 
To  bliss  them  bring, 
And  I  shall  sing 

Lullay,  byby,  lullay." 
(Old  Carol,  reprinted  from  the  Percy  Society's 
text.) 


To-day  in  Bethlehem 

TO-DAY  in  Bethlehem  hear  I 
Sweet  angel  voices  singing, 
All  glory  be  to  God  on  high, 
Who  peace  to  earth  is  bringing. 

[237] 


^  A  •  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  Virgin  Mary  holdeth  more 
Than  highest  heaven  most  holy : 

Light  shines  on  what  was  dark  before, 
And  lifteth  up  the  lowly. 

God  wills  that  peace  should  be  in  earth, 

And  holy  exultation : 
Sweet  Babe,  I  greet  Thy  spotless  birth 

And  wondrous  Incarnation. 
To-day  in  Bethlehem  hear  I 

Even  the  lowly  singing : 
With  angel-words  they  pierce  the  sky ; 

All  earth  with  joy  is  ringing. 
— From  the  Greek  of  John  of  Damascus 
by  Philip  Schaaf,  D.D. 


The  Cherry-Tree  Carol 


A 


S  Joseph  was  a-walking, 
He  heard  an  angel  sing, 


'This  night  shall  be  the  birth-time 
Of  Christ,  our  heavenly  King.'' 

[238] 


yZ^      HEAVEN  •  OUR  •  GLORIOUS  •  HOME      ^ 

He  neither  shall  be  born 

In  housen  nor  in  hall, 
Nor  in  the  place  of  paradise, 

But  in  an  ox's  stall. 

He  neither  shall  be  clothed 

In  purple  nor  in  pall, 
But  in  the  fair  white  linen 

That  usen  babies  all. 

He  neither  shall  be  rocked 

In  silver  nor  in  gold. 
But  in  a  wooden  manger 

That  resteth  on  the  mould." 

As  Joseph  was  a-walking. 

There  did  an  angel  sing, 
And  Mary's  child  at  midnight 

Was  born  to  be  our  King. 

Then  be  ye  glad,  good  people. 

This  night  of  all  the  year. 
And  light  ye  up  your  candles, 

For  His  star  it  shineth  clear. 

Old  English  Carol. 
[239] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


The  Golden  Carol 

[Of    ^lelchior,    Balthazar,    and    Caspar,    the 
Three  Kings  of  Cologne.] 

WE  saw  the  light  shine  out  a-far, 
On  Christmas  in  the  morning, 
And  straight  we  knew  Christ's  Star  it  w^as, 
Bright  beaming  in  the  morning. 

Then  did  we  fall  on  bended  knee, 
On  Christmas  in  the  morning, 

And  prais'd  the  Lord,  who'd  let  us  see 
His  glory  at  its   drawning. 

Oh !  ever  thought  be  of  His  Name, 
On  Christmas  in  the  morning, 

Who  bore  for  us  both  grief  and  shame, 
Aflfection's  sharpest  scorning. 

And  may  we  die  (when  death  shall  come). 
On  Christmas  in  the  morning, 

And  see  in  heav'n,  our  glorious  home, 
The  Star  of  Christmas  morning. 

Old  English  Carol, 
[240] 


I 


^  REJOICE  .  AND  .  BE  .  MERRY  ^ 


A   Virgin   Most   Pure 

A  VIRGIN  most  pure,  as  the  prophets  do 
tell, 
Hath  brought  forth  a  babe,  as  it  hath  her  befell, 
To  be  our  Redeemer  from  death,  hell,  and  sin, 
Which  Adam's  transgression  hath  wrapt  us  all 
in. 
Rejoice  and  be  merry,  set  sorrow  aside, 
Christ  Jesus,  our  Saviour,  was  born  at 
this  tide. 

In  Bethlehem  city,  in  Jewry  it  was, 
Where  Joseph  and  Mary  together  did  pass. 
And  there  to  be  taxed,  with  many  one  mo'. 
For  Caesar  commanded  the  same  should  be  so. 
Rejoice  and  be  merry — 

But,  when  they  had  entered  the  city  so  fair. 
The  number  of  people  so  mighty  was  there. 
That  Joseph  and  Mary,  whose  substance  was 

small, 
Could  get  in  the  city  no  lodging  at  all. 

Rejoice  and  be  merry — 

[  241  ] 


I 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY     ^  |^ 

Then  they  were  constrain'd  in  a  stable  to  he, 
Where  oxen  and  asses  they  used  to  tie ; 
Their  lodging  so  simple,  they  held  it  no  scorn. 
But  against  the  next  morning  our  Saviour  was 
born. 

Rejoice  and  be  merry — 

The   King  of  all   Glory  to  the  world  being 

brought, 
Small  store  of  fine  linen  to  wrap  him  was 

wrought ; 
When  Mary  had  swaddled  her  young  son  so 

sweet. 
Within  an  ox  manger  she  laid  him  to  sleep. 

Rejoice  and  be  merry — 

Then  God  sent  an  angel  from  Heaven  so  high, 
To  certain  poor  Shepherds  in  fields  where  they 

lie. 
And  bid  them  no  longer  in  sorrow  to  stay, 
Because  that  our  Saviour  was  born  on  this 

day. 

Rejoice  and  be  merry — 

Then  presently  after,  the  Shepherds  did  spy 
A  number  of  Angels  appear  in  the  sky, 

[242] 


|X(  NIGHT  .  FLIE  •  HEXCE  •  AWAY  ^ 

Who  joyfully  talked,  and  sweetly  did  sing, 
'To  God  be  all  Glory,  our  Heavenly  King/' 

Rejoice  and  be  merry — 

Three  certain  wise   Princes,  they  thought  it 

most  meek 
To  lay  their  rich  off'rings  at  our   Saviour's 

feet; 
Then  the  Shepherds  consent,  and  to  Bethlehem 

did  go, 
And   when   they   came   thither  they   found   it 
was  so. 
Rejoice  and  be  merry,  set  sorrow  aside, 
Christ  Jesus,  our   Saviour,   was  born  at 
this  tide. 

Old  Carol. 


[243] 


}^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 


A   Christmas   Carol 

CJionis: 

WHAT  sweeter  music  can  we  bring, 
Than  a  Carroll  for  to  sing 
The  Birth  of  this  our  heavenly  King? 
Aw^ake  the  voice !  awake  the  String ! 
Heart,  Ears,  and  Eye,  and  every  thing 
Awake !  the  while  the  active  Finger 
Runs  division  wuth  the  Singer. 

From  the  Flourish  they  came  to  the  Song: 

1.  Dark  and  dull  night,  flie  hence  away, 
And  give  the  honour  to  this  Day, 
That  sees  December  turn'd  to  May. 

2.  If  we  may  ask  the  reason,  say; 

The  why,  and  wherefore  all  things  here 
Seem  like  the  Springtime  of  the  yeere  ? 

3.  Why  do's  the  chilling  Winters  morne 
Smile,  like  a  field  beset  with  corne? 
Or  smell,  like  to  a  meade  new^-shorne, 
Thus,  on  the  sudden  ?    4.  Come  and  see 

[244] 


^        THE  .  GLORIOUS  •  SOXG  •  OF  •  OLD       |X< 

The  cause,  why  things  thus  fragrant  be : 
'Tis  He  is  borne,  whose  quick'ning  Birth 
Gives  Life  and  luster,  pubHke  mirth. 
To  Heaven,  and  the  under-Earth. 

Chorus: 
We  see  Him  come,  and  know  Him  ours, 
Who,  with  His  sunshine,  and  His  showers, 
Turnes  all  the  patient  ground  to  flowers. 

I.  The  Darling  of  the  World  is  come, 
And  fit  it  is,  we  find  a  roome 
To  welcome  Him.    2.  The  nobler  part 
Of  all  the  house  here,  is  the  heart. 

Chorus: 
Which  we  will  give  Him ;  and  bequeath 
This  Hollie,  and  this  Ivie  Wreath, 
To  do  Him  honour ;  Who's  our  King, 
And  Lord  of  all  this  Revelling. 

Robert  Herrick. 
CHis  Noble  Xumhcrsr) 


[245] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A  Christmas  Carol 

IT  came  upon  the  midnight  clear, 
The  glorious  song  of  old, 
From  angels  bending  near  the  earth, 

To  touch  their  harps  of  gold : 
''Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men 

From  heaven's  all-gracious  King/' 
The  world  in  solemn  stillness  lay 
To  hear  the  angels  sing. 

Still  through  the  cloven  skies  they  came, 

With  peaceful  wings  unfurled; 
And  still  their  heavenly  music  floats 

O'er  all  the  weary  world : 
Above  its  sad  and  lowly  plains 

They  bend  on  hovering  wing. 
And  ever  o'er  its  Babel  sounds 

The  blessed  angels  sing. 

But  with  the  woes  of  sin  and  strife 
The  world  has  suffered  long; 

Beneath  the  angel-strain  have  rolled 
Two  thousand  years  of  wrong; 

[2461 


^  GLORY  .  TO  .  GOD  •  ON  .  HIGH  ^ 

And  man,  at  war  with  man,  hears  not 
The  love  song  which  they  bring: 

Oh,  hush  the  noise,  ye  men  of  strife, 
And  hear  the  angels  sing. 

And  ye,  beneath  life's  crushing  load, 

Whose  forms  are  bending  low. 
Who  toil  along  the  climbing  way 

With  painful  steps  and  slow, 
Look  now,  for  glad  and  golden  hours 

Come  swiftly  on  the  wing: 
Oh,  rest  beside  the  weary  road. 

And  hear  the  angels  sing. 

For  lo,  the  days  are  hastening  on 

By  prophet  bards  foretold. 
When  with  the  ever  circling  years 

Comes  round  the  age  of  gold : 
When  Peace  shall  over  all  the  earth 

Its  ancient  splendors  fling. 
And  the  whole  world  give  back  the  song 

Which  now  the  angels  sing. 

Edmund  Hamilton  Sears. 


[247] 


^ 


THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY 


^ 


Christmas   Carol 

O'ER  the  world,  in  silence  sleeping, 
Countless  stars  shone  clear  and  bright ; 
Lonely,  silent  vigil  keeping, 

Shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night. 


Hour  by  hour  the  night  was  numbered, 
'Neath  the  distant  Eastern  skies ; 

Hour  by  hour  their  charges  slumbered, 
Guarded  by  their  watchful  eyes. 


Suddenly  the  skies  were  rifted — 
Heaven's  curtain  rent  in  twain — 

On  their  startled  gaze,  uplifted, 
Burst  the  wondrous  angel-train. 


Sweeping  downward  through  the  arches 

Of  the  rent  and  cloven  sky. 
Grander  than  the  grandest  marches 

Of  earth's  hosts,  to  victory ; 

[248] 


■     ^     O  .  CLEAR  .  AXD  .  SHIXIXG  .  LIGHT     ^ 

Nobler  than  the  greatest  glory 

Annalled  on  the  page  of  time, 
Sung  in  verse,  or  told  in  story, 

Came  the  angel  host,  sublime! 

All  the  vault  of  heaven,  ringing 

To  the  music  of  the  sky ; 
Golden  lyres,  and  angels  singing: 

''Glory  be  to  God  on  high !" 

Voices  that  before  creation 

Rang  the  anthems  of  His  praise, 

Now,  in  endless  adoration, 

Sang  anew  His  wondrous  grace : 

Carolled  forth  the  gracious  story 
Of  God's  love  and  pardon,  then 

Sang:  'To  God  on  high  be  glory. 
Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men!" 

Golden  lyres,  by  angel  fingers 

Swept,  rang  forth  the  strain  again; 

Soft,  angelic-sweet,  it  lingers — 

''Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men!'' 

Geo.  Chaxning  Thomas. 

[249] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Christmas  Carol 

O  LOVELY  voices  of  the  sky, 
That  hymned  the  Saviour's  birth ! 
Are  ye  not  singing  still  on  high, 
Ye  that  sang  "Peace  on  Earth!" 
To  us  yet  speak  the  strains 

Wherewith,  in  days  gone  by, 
Ye  blessed  the  Syrian  swains, 
O  voices  of  the  sky ! 

O  clear  and  shining  light !  whose  beams 

That  hour  heaven's  glory  shed 
Around  the  palms,  and  o'er  the  streams, 
And  on  the  shepherd's  head ; 

Be  near,  through  life  and  death. 

As  in  that  holiest  night, 
Of  Hope,  and  Joy,  and  Faith, 
O  clear  and  shining  light ! 

O  star !  which  led  to  Him  whose  love 
Brought  down  man's  ransom  free ; 

Where  art  thou? — 'midst  the  hosts  above 
May  \Ye  still  gaze  on  thee? 

[250] 


|X^  OF  .  GLORY  .  AND  •  OF  •  PEACE  ^ 

In  heaven  thou  art  not  set, 

Thy  ways  earth  might  not  dim, 

Send  them  to  guide  us  yet, 
O  star  which  led  to  Him ! 

Felicia  Hemans. 


A  Christmas    Carol 

THE  moon  that  now  is  shining 
In  skies  so  blue  and  bright. 
Shone  ages  since  on  Shepherds 

Who  watched  their  flocks  by  night. 
There  was  no  sound  upon  the  earth, 

The  azure  air  was  still, 
The  sheep  in  quiet  clusters  lay 
Upon  the  grassy  hill. 

When  lo !  a  white-winged  Angei 

The  watchers  stood  before^ 
And  told  how  Christ  was  born  on  earth 

For  mortals  to  adore; 
He  bade  the  trembling  Shepherds 

Listen,  nor  be  afraid, 
And  told  how  in  a  manger 

The  glorious  Child  w^as  laid. 

[251] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

When  suddenly  in  the  Heavens 

Appeared  an  Angel  band — 
(The  while  in  reverent  wonder 

The  Syrian  Shepherds  stand), 
And  all  the  bright  host  chanted 

Words  that  shall  never  cease — 
Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 

On  earth  good- will  and  peace! 

The  vision  in  the  heavens 

Faded,  and  all  was  still, 
And  the  wondering  shepherds  left  their  flocks 

To  feed  upon  the  hill : 
Toward  the  blessed  city 

Quickly  their  course  they  held, 
And  in  a  lowly  stable 

Virgin  and  Child  beheld. 

Beside  a  humble  manger 

Was  the  Maiden  Mother  mild. 
And  in  her  arms  her  Son  divine, 

A  newborn  Infant,  smiled. 
No  shade  of  future  sorrow 

From  Calvary  then  was  cast, 
Only  the  glory  was  revealed. 

The  suffering  was  not  past. 

[252] 


|X(     SING  .  TILL  .  THE  •  NIGHT  •  EXPIRE    ^ 

The  Eastern  kings  before  Him  knelt, 

And  rarest  offerings  brought ; 
The  shepherds  worshipped  and  adored 

The  wonders  God  had  wrought : 
They  saw  the  crown  for  Israel's  King, 

The  future's  glorious  part — 
But  all  these  things  the  Mother  kept 

And  pondered  in  her  heart. 

Now  we  that  Maiden  Mother 

The  Queen  of  Heaven  call, 
And  the  Child  we  call  our  Jesus, 

Saviour  and  Judge  of  all — 
But  the  star  that  shone  in  Bethlehem 

Shines  still,  and  shall  not  cease, 
And  we  listen  still  to  the  tidings 

Of  Glory  and  of  Peace. 

Adelaide  A.  Procter. 


[253] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A.  Christmas    Carol 

I    HEAR  along  our  street 
Pass  the  minstrel  throngs ; 
Hark!  they  play  so  sweet 
On  their   hautboys,   Christmas   songs! 
Let  us  by  the  fire 
Ever  higher 
Sing  them  till  the  night  expire. 

In  December  ring 

Every  day  the  chimes ; 

Loud  the  gleemen  sing 
In  the  streets  their  merry  rhymes. 

Let  us  by  the  fire 

Ever  higher 
Sing  them  till  the  night  expire. 

Shepherds  at  the  grange, 
Where  the  Babe  was  born, 
Sang,  with  many  a  change, 

Christmas  carols  until  morn. 
Let  us  by  the  fire 
Ever  higher 

Sing  them  till  the  night  expire. 

[  254  ] 


|X(  MAKE  .  GLAD  •  THE  •  HEART  ^ 


These  good  people  sang 

Songs  devout  and  sweet; 

While  the  rafters  rang, 
There  they  stood  with  freezing  feet. 

Let  us  by  the  fire 

Ever  higher 
Sing  them  till  the  night  expire. 


Nuns  in  frigid  cells, 

At  this  holy  tide, 

For  want  of  something  else, 
Christmas  songs  at  times  have  tried. 

Let  us  by  the  fire 

Ever  higher 
Sing  them  till  the  night  expire. 


Washerwomen  old. 
To  the  sound  they  beat, 
Sing  by  rivers  cold, 

With  uncovered  heads  and  feet. 
Let  us  by  the  fire 
Ever  higher 

Sing  them  till  the  night  expire. 


[255] 


|Z(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Who  by  the  fireside  stands, 
Stamps  his  feet  and  sings ; 
But  he  who  blows  his  hands 
Not  so  gay  a  carol  brings. 
Let  us  by  the  fire 
Ever  higher 
Sing  them  till  the  night  expire ! 

Henry  W.  Longfellow. 
(From     The    Noei    Bourguignon    De    Gui 
Barozai.) 


Good  King  Wenceslas 

GOOD  King  Wenceslas  look'd  out 
On  the  Feast  of  Stephen, 
When  the  snow  lay  round  about, 

Deep  and  crisp,  and  even ; 
Brightly  shone  the  moon  that  night, 

Though  the  frost  was  cruel. 
When  a  poor  man  came  in  sight, 
Gathering  winter  fuel. 

[256] 


^  BLESS  .  THE  •  POOR  |^ 

''Hither,  page,  and  stand  by  me, 

If  thou  know'st  it,  telHng, 
Yonder' peasant,  who  is  he? 

Where  and  what  his  dwelHng?" 
''Sire,  he  Hves  a  good  league  hence, 

Underneath  the  mountain; 
Right  against  the  forest  fence, 

By  Saint  xA^gnes'  fountain." 

"Bring  me  fiesh,  and  bring  me  wine, 

Bring  me  pine  logs  hither ; 
Thou  and  I  will  see  him  dine, 

When  we  bear  them  thither." 
Page  and  monarch  forth  they  went, 

Forth  they  went  together; 
Through  the  rude  wind's  wild  lament 

And  the  bitter  weather. 

"Sire,  the  night  is  darker  now, 

And  the  wind  blows  stronger; 
Fails  my  heart,  I  know  not  how, 

I  can  go  no  longer." 
"Mark  my  footsteps,  my  good  page, 

Tread  thou  in  them  boldly ; 
Thou  shalt  find  the  winter's  rage 

Freeze  thy  blood  less  coldly." 

[257] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  fl^ 

In  his  master's  steps  he  trod, 

Where  the  snow  lay  dinted; 
Heat  was  in  the  very  sod 

Which  the  saint  had  printed. 
Therefore  Christian  men,  be  sure. 

Wealth  or  rank  possessing. 
Ye  who  now  will  bless  the  poor, 

Shall  yourselves  find  blessing. 

Rev.  Dr.  Neale. 


A  Christmas  Carol 

IN  the  bleak  midwinter 
Frosty  winds  made  moan, 
Earth  stood  hard  as  iron, 

Water  like  a  stone ; 
Snow  had  fallen,  snow  on  snow, 

Snow  on  snow, 
In  the  bleak  midwinter 
Long  ago. 

Our  God,  Heaven  cannot  hold  Him 

Nor  earth  sustain ; 
Heaven  and  earth  shall  flee  away 

When  He  comes  to  reign: 

[258] 


^  GIVE  .  CHRIST  .  THY  •  HEART  ^ 

In  the  bleak  midwinter 

A  stable-place  sufficed 
The  Lord  God  Almighty 

Jesus  Christ. 

Enough  for  Him,  whom  cherubim 

Worship  night  and  day, 
A  breastful  of  milk 

And  a  mangerful  of  hay ; 
Enough  for  Him,  whom  angels 

Fall  down  before. 
The  ox  and  ass  and  camel 

Which  adore. 

Angels  and  archangels 

May  have  gathered  there, 
Cherubim  and  seraphim 

Thronged  the  air ; 
But  only  His  mother, 

In  her  maiden  bliss, 
Worshipped  the  Beloved 

With  a  kiss. 

What  can  I  give  Him, 
Poor  as  I  am  ? 

[259] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

If  I  were  a  shepherd 

I  would  bring  a  lamb ; 
If  I  were  a  Wise  Alan 

I  would  do  my  part ; 
Yet  what    can  I  give  Him — 

Give  my  heart. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 


A  Christmas  Carol 


LO !  new-born  Jesus, 
Soft  and  weak  and  small. 
Wrapped  in  baby's  bands 
By  His  mother's  hands, 
Lord  God  of  all. 

Lord  God  of  Mary, 
Whom  His  lips  caress 

While  He  rocks  to  rest 

On  her  milky  breast 
In  helplessness. 

[260] 


^  JESUS  .  THE  .  GUIDIXG  •  STAR  ^ 

Lord  God  of  shepherds 

Flocking  through  the  cold, 

Flocking  through  the  dark 

To  the  only  Ark, 
The  only  Fold. 

Lord  God  of  all  things, 

Be  they  near  or  far, 
Be  they  high  or  low; 
Lord  of  storm  and  snow, 

Angel  and  star. 

Lord  God  of  all  men — 

My  Lord  and  my  God ! 
Thou  who  lovest  me, 
Keep  me  close  to  Thee 

By  staff  and  rod. 

Lo !  new-born  Jesus, 

Loving  great  and  small. 
Love's  free  Sacrifice, 
Opening  Arms  and  Eyes 

To  one  and  all. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 

[261] 


)X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X^ 


A  Christmas  Carol 

THE  Shepherds  had  an  Angel, 
The  Wise  Men  had  a  star, 
But  what  have  I,  a  Httle  child. 
To  guide  me  home  from  far, 
Where  glad  stars  sing  together, 
And  singing  Angels  are  ? 

Lord  Jesus  is  my  Guardian, 

So  I  can  nothing  lack : 
The  lambs  lie  in  His  bosom 

Along  life's  dangerous  track: 
The  wilful  lambs  that  go  astray 

He  bleeding  fetches  back. 

Lord  Jesus  is  my  guiding  star, 

]\Iy  beacon  light  in  heaven : 
He  leads  me  step  by  step  along 

The  path  of  life  uneven  : 
He,  true  light,  leads  me  to  that  land 

Whose  day  shall  be  as  seven. 

Those  Shepherds  through  the  lonely  night 
Sat  watching  by  their  sheep, 

[262] 


^         GROW  .  HOLIER  •  DAY  •  BY  •  DAY         ^ 

Until  they  saw  the  heavenly  host, 

Who  neither  tire  nor  sleep, 
All  singing  ''Glory,  glory," 

In  festival  they  keep. 

Christ  watches  me,  His  little  lamb; 

Cares  for  me  day  and  night, 
That  I  may  be  His  own  in  heaven : 

So  angels,  clad  in  white, 
Shall  sing  their  ''Glory,  glory'' 

For  my  sake  in  the  height. 

The  Wise  Men  left  their  country 

To  journey  morn  by  morn, 
With  gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh, 

Because  the  Lord  was  born: 
God  sent  a  star  to  guide  them 

And  sent  a  dream  to  warn. 

My  life  is  like  their  journey, 
Their  star  is  like  God's  book ; 

I  must  be  like  those  good  Wise  Men 
With  heavenward  heart  and  look: 

But  shall  I  give  no  gifts  to  God? 
What  precious  gifts  they  took! 

[263] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )^ 

Lord,  I  will  give  my  love  to  Thee, 

Than  gold  much  costlier, 
Sweeter  to  Thee  than  frankincense, 

More  prized  than  choicest  myrrh : 
Lord,  make  me  dearer  day  by  day, 

Day  by  day  holier ; 

Nearer  and  dearer  day  by  day, 

Till  I  my  voice  unite, 
And  sing  my  ''Glory,  glory'' 

With  angels  clad  in  white ; 
All  "Glory,  glory''  given  to  Thee 

Through  all  the  heavenly  height. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 


A  Christmas  Carol 

WHAT    means    this    glory    round    our 
feet," 
The  Magi  mused,  ''more  bright  than  morn  ?" 
And  voices  chanted,  clear  and  sweet, 
"To-day  the  Prince  of  Peace  is  born!" 

[264] 


^       HE  .  CAME  .  TO  •  SET  •  AIEX  •  FREE      ^ 

"What  means  that  star/'  the  Shepherds  said, 
"That  brightens  through  the  rocky  glen?'' 

And  angels,  answering  overhead, 

Sang,  "Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men!" 

'Tis  eighteen  hundred  years  and  more 
Since  those  sweet  oracles  were  dumb; 

We  wait  for  Him,  like  them  of  yore, 
Alas !  he  seems  so  slow  to  come ! 


But  it  was  said,  in  words  of  gold. 
No  time  or  sorrow  e'er  shall  dim, 

That  little  children  might  be  bold — 
In  perfect  trust  to  come  to  Him. 

All  round  about  our  feet  shall  shine 
A  light  like  that  the  Wise  ]\Ien  saw, 

If  we  our  loving  wills  incline 

To  that  sweet  Life  which  is  the  Law. 

So  shall  we  learn  to  understand 

The  simple  faith  of  shepherds  then, 

And,  clasping  kindly  hand  in  hand, 

Sing  "Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men!" 

[265] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X( 

But  they  who  do  their  souls  no  wrong, 
But  keep  at  eve  the  faith  of  morn, 

Shall  daily  hear  the  angel  song, 

*'To-day  the  Prince  of  Peace  is  born!" 
James  Russell  Lowell. 


Masters,   in  this   Hall 

^T^O    Bethlem   did   they   go,    the   shepherds 

three: 
To  Bethlem  did  they  go  to  see  zvhe'r  it  were 

so  or  no, 
Whether  Christ  were  horn  or  no 
To  set  me  ft  free!' 

Masters,  in  this  hall, 

Hear  ye  news  to-day 
Brought  over  sea. 
And  ever  I  you  pray. 

Nowell!  Nowell!  Now  ell!  Nowell! 

Sing  zve  clear! 
Holpen  are  all  folk  on  earth, 
Born  is  God's  Son  so  dear, 

[  266  ] 


^       BORN  .  IS  .  god's  .  SOX  •  SO  •  DEAR       ^ 

Going  over  the  hills, 

Through  the  milk-white  snow, 
Heard  I  ewes  bleat 

While  the  wind  did  blow. 

Nowell,  etc. 

Shepherds,  many  an  one, 

Sat  among  the  sheep ; 
No  man  spake  more  word 

Than  they  had  been  asleep. 

Nowell,  etc. 

Quoth  I,  ''Fellows  mine. 

Why  this  guise  sit  ye? 
Making  but  dull  cheer, 

Shepherds  though  ye  be? 

Nowell,  etc. 

"Shepherds  should,  of  right, 

Leap  and  dance  and  sing; 
Thus  to  see  ye  sit 

Is  a  right  strange  thing.'' 

Nowell,  etc. 

Quoth  these  fellows  then  : 
''To  Bethlem  town  we  go, 

[267] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

To  see  a  Mighty  Lord 
Lie  in  manger  low." 

Nowell,  etc. 

"His  name  ye  this  Lord, 

Shepherds?"  then  said  L 
''Very  God,"  they  said, 

''Come  from  Heaven  high." 

Nozvell,  etc. 

Then  to  Bethlem  town 

We  went,  two  and  two, 
And  in  a  sorry  place 

Heard  the  oxen  low. 

Nowell,  etc. 

Therein  did  w^e  see 

A  sweet  and  goodly  May, 
And  a  fair  old  man ; 

Upon  the  straw  she  lay. 

Nowell,  etc. 

And  a  little  Child 

On  her  arm  had  she; 
"Wot  ye  who  this  is?" 

Said  the  hinds  to  me. 

Nowell,  etc. 

[268] 


^  TO  .  THY  .  son's  .  FACE  ^ 

Ox  and  ass  Him  know, 

Kneeling  on  their  knee ; 
Wondrous  joy  had  I 

This  httle  Babe  to  see. 

Nowell,  etc. 

This  is  Christ  the  Lord, 

Masters,  be  ye  glad ! 
Christmas  is  come  in, 

And  no  folk  should  be  sad. 

Nowell!  Nowell!  Nozvell!  Nozvell! 

Sing  IV e  clear! 
Holpen  are  all  folk  on  earth, 

Born  is  God's  Son  so  dear, 

William  ]\Iorris. 
(From  ''Ancient  Christmas  Carols/'  edited  by 
Edmund  Sedding.) 


[269] 


jX^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A  Christmas  Carol 

THREE  damsels  in  the  queen's  chamber, 
The  queen's  mouth  was  most  fair ; 
She  spake  a  word  of  God's  mother 
As  the  combs  went  in  her  hair. 
Mary  that  is  of  might, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  sight. 

They  held  the  gold  combs  out  from  her, 

A  span's  length  ofif  her  head ; 
She  sang  this  song  of  God's  mother 
And  of  her  bearing-bed. 

Mary,  most  full  of  grace. 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  face. 

When  she  sat  at  Joseph's  hand, 
She  looked  against  her  side ; 
And  either  way  from  the  short  silk  band  J 

Her  girdle  was  all  wried.  a 

Mary  that  all  good  may, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  way. 

Mary  had  three  women  for  her  bed, 
The  twain  were  maidens  clean ; 

[270] 


^  THY  .  son's  .  PEACE  ^ 

The  first  of  them  had  white  and  red, 
The  third  had  riven  green. 
Mary  that  is  so  sweet, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  feet. 

She  had  three  women  for  her  hair, 
Two  were  gloved  soft  and  shod ; 
The  third  had  feet  and  fingers  bare. 
She  was  the  Hkest  God. 

Mary  that  wieldeth  land, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  hand. 

She  had  three  w^omen  for  her  ease, 

The  twain  were  good  women; 
The  first  two  were  the  two  Maries, 
The  third  was  Magdalen. 
Mary  that  perfect  is, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  kiss. 

Joseph  had  three  w^orkmen  in  his  stall, 

To  serve  him  well  upon ; 
The  first  of  them  were  Peter  and  Paul, 
The  third  of  them  was  John. 
Mary,  God's  handmaiden. 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  ken. 

[271] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  )X( 

*'If  your  child  be  none  other  man's, 

But  if  it  be  very  mine, 
The  bedstead  shall  be  gold  two  spans, 
The  bedfoot  silver  fine." 

Mary  that  made  God's  mirth, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  birth. 

*Tf  the  child  be  some  other  man's. 

And  if  it  be  none  of  mine, 
The  manger  shall  bestraw  two  spans, 
Betwixen  kine  and  kine." 

Mary  that  made  sin  cease. 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  peace. 

Christ  was  born  upon  this  wise. 

It  fell  on  such  a  night, 
Neither  with  sounds  of  psalteries 
Nor  with  fire  for  light. 

Mary  that  is  God's  spouse, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  house. 

The  star  came  out  upon  the  east 

With  a  great  sound  and  sweet. 
Kings  gave  gold  to  make  Him  feast 

And  myrrh  for  Him  to  eat. 

[  ^7^  ] 


^  GLAD  .  TIDINGS  •  UXTO  •  ALL  ^ 

Mary,  of  thy  sweet  mood, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  good. 

He  had  two  handmaids  at  His  head, 

One  handmaid  at  His  feet; 
The  twain  of  them  w^ere  fair  and  red, 
The  third  one  was  right  sweet. 
Mary  that  is  most  wise, 
Bring  us  to  thy  Son's  eyes. 

Amen. 
Algernon  Charles  Swinburne. 


The  Child  Jesus 

A  CORNISH  CAROL. 

WELCOME  that  Star  in  Judah's  sky, 
That    voice    o'er    Bethlehem's    palmy 
glen: 
The  lamp,  far  sages  hailed  on  high, 

The  tones  that  thrill'd  the  shepherd  men: 
Glory  to  God  in  highest  heaven ! 

Thus  Angels  smote  the  echoing  chord ; 
Glad  tidings  unto  man  forgiven  ! 

Peace  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord! 

[  ^7Z  ] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |X^ 

The  Shepherds  sought  that  Birth  divine, 

The  Wise  Men  traced  their  guided  way ; 
There,  by  strange  light  and  mystic  sign, 

The  God  they  came  to  worship  lay. 
A  human  Babe  in  beauty  smiled, 

Where  lowing  oxen  round  Him  trod ; 
A  maiden  clasped  her  Awful  Child, 

Pure  offspring  of  the  breath  of  God. 

Those  voices  from  on  high  are  mute; 

The  Star  the  Wise  Men  saw  is  dim ; 
But  Hope  still  guides  the  wanderer's  foot, 

And  Faith  renews  the  angel  hymn : 
Glory  to  God  in  loftiest  heaven ! 

Touch  with  glad  hand  the  ancient  chord ; 
Good  tidings  unto  man  forgiven, 

Peace  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord ! 

Robert  Stephen  Hawker. 


[274] 


|X(  BE  .  MY  .  LORD  •  AND  .  KING  )^ 


The  Three  Kings 

THREE  Kings  went  riding  from  the  East, 
Through  fine  weather  and  wet; 
''And  whither  shall  we  ride/'  they  said, 
''Where  we  have  not  ridden  yet?" 

"And  whither  shall  we  ride,"  they  said, 

"To  find  the  hidden  thing 
That  turns  the  course  of  all  our  stars 

And  all  our  auguring?" 

They  were  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East, 

And  none  so  wise  as  they ; 
"Alas !"  the  King  of  Persia  cried, 

"And  must  ye  ride  away  ? 

"Yet,  since  ye  go  a-riding,  sire, 

I  pray  ye,  ride  for  me, 
And  carry  me  my  golden  gifts 

To  the  King  o'  Galilee. 

"Go  riding  into  Palestine, 

A  long  ride  and  a  fair !" 
"Tis  well,"  the  jMagi  answered  him, 

"As  well  as  anywhere." 

[275] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


They  rode  by  day,  they  rode  by  night, 
The  stars  came  out  on  high — 

And  "Oh!"  the  King  Balthazar  said, 
As  he  gazed  into  the  sky. 

We  ride  by  day,  we  ride  by  night, 
To  a  King  in  GaHlee ; 
We  leave  a  King  in  Persia, 
And  kings  no  less  are  we. 

''Yet  often  in  the  deep  blue  night. 
When  stars  burn  far  and  dim, 

I  wish  I  knew  a  greater  King — 
To  fall  and  worship  him. 

"A  King  who  should  not  care  to  reign, 

But  wonderful  and  fair ; 
A  King — a  King  that  were  a  star, 

Aloft  in  miles  of  air!" 


"A  star  is  good,"  said  Melchior, 
''A  high,  unworldly  thing; 

But  I  would  choose  a  soul  alive 
To  be  my  Lord  and  King. 

[276] 


|X(  BEHOLD  .  THE  •  PLACE  !  -^ 

''Not  Herod,  nay,  nor  Cyrus,  nay, 

Not  any  King  at  all ; 
For  I  would  choose  a  sinless  child, 

Laid  in  a  manger  stall/' 

"'Tis  well !''  the  black  King  Caspar  cried, 

"For  mighty  men  are  ye ; 
But  no  such  humble  King  were  meet 

For  my  simplicity. 

"A  star  is  small,  and  very  far  ; 

A  babe's  a  simple  thing : 
The  very  Son  of  God  Himself 

Shall  be  my  Lord  and  King!" 

The  King  Balthazar  sighed  and  smiled ; 

''A  good  youth,"  Melchior  cried  ; 
And  young  and  old,  without  a  word. 

Along  the  hills  they  ride. 

Till  lo !  among  the  western  skies 
There  grows  a  shining  thing — 

"The  Star !    Behold  the  star !"  they  shout. 
"Behold  Balthazar's  King!" 


|X(  THE  •  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

And  lo !  within  the  western  skies 

The  star  begins  to  flit; 
The  three  Kings  spur  their  horses  on, 

And  follow  after  it. 


And  when  they  reach  the  King's  castle 

They  cry,  ''Behold  the  place!'' 
But,  like  a  shining  bird,  the  star 

Flits  on  in  heaven  apace. 

Oh,  they  rode  on,  and  on  they  rode, 
Till  they  reached  a  lonely  wold, 

Where  shepherds  keep  their  flocks  by  night, 
And  the  night  was  chill  and  cold. 

Oh,  they  rode  on,  and  on  they  rode. 

Till  they  reach  a  little  town. 
And  there  the  star  in  heaven  stands  still 

Above  a  stable  brown. 

And  through  the  open  door  the  straw 

And  the  tired  beasts  they  see, 
And  the  Babe,  laid  in  a  manger. 

That  sleepeth  peacefully. 

[278] 


^  FOLLOW  .  god's  .  EXAMPLE  ^ 

"All  hail!  the  King  of  Melchior!'^ 

The  three  Wise  Men  begin  ; 
King  Melchior  swings  from  his  horse, 

And  he  would  have  entered  in. 


But  why  do  the  horses  whinny  and  neigh  ? 

And  what  thing  ifills  the  night 
With  angels  in  a  wheeling  spire, 

And  streams  of  heavenly  light? 

King  Melchior  kneels  upon  the  grass. 

And  falls  a-praying  there ; 
Balthazar  lets  the  bridle  drop, 

And  gazes  in  the  air. 

But  Caspar  gives  a  happy  shout, 

And  hastens  to  the  stall : 
''Now  hail,"  he  cries,  'Thou  Son  of  God, 

And  Saviour  of  us  all !" 

A.  Mary  F.  Robinson. 


[279] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


A  Provengal  Noel 

THOU  that  seekest  thy  delight, 
Thou  that  lovest  only  pleasure, 
Wilt  thou  never  own  the  leisure 
From  thy  lusts  to  part  aright? 

Since  that  God,  alas ! 
Seeking  nothing  but  His  anguish — 

Since  that  God,  alas! 
Suffers  in  a  meager  shed. 

Insufficient  thy  domain 

For  thy  vanity  as  dwelling, 

Thou  a  palace  shouldst  be  selling.  .  .  . 

Art  thou  not  overwhelmed  by  pain, 

Since  that  God,  alas! 
Is  contented  with  a  stable — 

Since  that  God,  alas! 
Lodges  in  a  meager  shed? 

Deep  in  newly  furnished  tower, 
Curtains  close  around  thee  fitted — 
Neither  art  nor  paint's  omitted 
For  the  beauty  of  thy  bower. 

[  280  ] 


^  THE  .  OLD  .  CLD  •  STORY  ^ 

Jesus,  He^  alas ! 
Is  not  to  be  found  there  present — 

Jesus,  He,  alas ! 
Bides  within  a  meager  shed. 

Dishes  exquisite  indeed. 
Wines  most  delicate  of  flavor — 
None  there  be  too  choice  of  savor 
For  thy  fancy  or  thy  greed. 

Jesus,  He,  alas ! 
Tastes  the  wild  wind  and  the  breezes — 

Jesus,  He,  alas ! 
Fasts  within  a  meager  shed. 

When  that  thou  art  well  refreshed 
To  a  beauteous  couch  thou  hiest. 
Fine  and  wide,  wherein  thou  liest. 
Decked  with  broidery  deftly  mesh'd. 

But  thy  God,  alas ! 
On  the  scanty  straw,  most  lowly — 

But  thy  God,  alas ! 
Lies  within  a  meager  shed. 
(Translated    from    the    Provencal    by    Lady 
Lindsay.) 


[281] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Ancient   French   Carol 

JOSEPH  and  Mary  went  their  way 
To  Bethlehem  full  late  one  day. 
The  folks  that  had  hostellerie 
But  little  worth  held  them  to  be. 


Thus  all  the  town  they  wandered  o'er, 
And  lodging  sought  from  door  to  door. 
'Twas  at  the  hour  Maid  Mary  should 
Be  nigh  unto  her  motherhood. 


A  wealthy  household  they  essayed, 
And  for  some  shelter  humbly  prayed. 
The  answer  made  their  pleading  vain : 
*'Bring  ye  a  rich  and  stately  train?'' 


''We  have  one  ox,  one  ass  alone ; 
Behold  them  here — the  beasts  we  own." 
''Ye  seem  but  vagrants  to  my  mind. 
And  here  no  lodging  shall  ye  find." 

[282] 


^  SING  .  A  .  BLITHE  •  NOWELL  ^ 

Then  to  another  host  they  hied, 
And  offered  coin  so  they  might  bide; 
But  once  again  the  speech  was  clear : 
''Get  ye  from  hence ;  ye  house  not  here !'' 

There  came  to  Joseph  one  that  hailed 
Him  as  a  wicked  churl,  and  railed : 
''Where  leadest  her  that  hath  in  truth 
But  fifteen  tender  years  of  youth?" 

Gazed  Joseph  then  where  stood  apart 
Mary,  most  dolorous  of  heart, 
And  to  her  quoth  he :    "Dear,  my  dear, 
Come  elsewhere,  for  we  rest  not  here. 

A  stable  shed  I  saw  hard  by ; 
There  may  we  present  lodging  try/' 
'Twas  at  the  hour  Maid  Mary  should 
Be  nigh  unto  her  motherhood. 

At  midnight  to  that  Virgin  mild. 
The  selfsame  night,  was  born  a  Child; 
In  costly  fur  she  was  not  gowned, 
With  which  to  wrap  Him  warmly  round ; 

[283] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  |^ 

But  in  a  manger  did  she  lay 
Him  on  a  meager  bed  of  hay, 
With  but  a  stone  for  pillowing 
The  head  of  Him,  the  mighty  King. 
(Translated  from  the  Old  French  by  Lady 
Lindsay,) 


A   Burgundian  Noel 

WILLIE,  take  thy  tamborin; 
Thou,  thy  flute  go  bring,  Robin. 
Then  to  sound  of  these  to-day — 
Tooralooraloo,  patapatapay — 
To  the  sound  of  these  to-day 
I  a  blithe  Nowell  will  say. 

Custom  was,  in  time  gone  by, 
The  King  of  kings  to  glorify ; 
Then  to  sound  of  these  to-day — 
Tooralooraloo,  patapatapay — 
To  the  sound  of  these  to-day 
We  will  do  the  selfsame  way. 

[284] 


^  THE  .  STAR  .  OF  •  BETHLEHEM  ^ 

This  morn  the  Devil  smitten  Hes; 
Let  our  grace  to  Jesu  rise ! 
Then  to  sound  of  these  to-day — 
Tooralooraloo,  patapatapay — 
To  the  sound  of  these  to-day 
A  grimace  to  Satan  pay. 

God  and  man  attuned,  we  see, 
More  than  flute  and  tabor  be. 
Then  to  sound  of  these  to-day — 
Tooralooraloo,  patapatapay — 
To  the  sound  of  these  to-day 
Sing  and  dance,  and  leap  in  play. 

(Translated  from  the  Old  French  by  Lady 
Lindsay,) 


Carol  of  the  Three  Kings 

HERE  and  away  in  good  faith  we  pace : 
A  happy  evening  God  give  you  in  grace ; 
A  happy  evening,  a  joyful  new  year. 
That  no  misfortune  to  us  come  near. 

[285] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  |X^ 

And,  firstly,  God  will  we  honor  and  praise, 
We  three  holy  kings,  with  the  star  of  our  ways. 
We   three    holy   kings,    we    are    wearing   the 

crown. 
And  'tis  our  purpose  the  best  shall  be  done. 

It  happed,  when  Herod's  house  we  neared, 
Herod  from  out  of  the  window  peered ; 
Herod  spake,  and  in  loudest  tone : 
*' Whence  do  ye  come?    Whither  would  ye  be 
gone  ?'' 

'Toward  Bethlehem  our  mind  we  bend, 
For  that  came  we  here,  and  to  that  we  wend — 
Toward  Bethlehem,  the  city  most  fair — 
Our  Lord  the  Christ  He  was  born  there." 

Then  Herod  quoth :    ''Come  in  to  me  here, 
For  I  will  give  ye  both  wine  and  beer ; 
Straw  and  hay  will  I  give  to  ye, 
And  all  your  need  shall  be  granted  free." 

''Oh,  no !    Oh,  no !    Now  must  we  be  gone. 
For  yonder  a  little  young  child  we  own, 
A  little  young  child,  a  God  most  great, 
Who  did  both  heaven  and  earth  create." 

[286] 


^  NOS  .  EX  AUDI  .  DOMIXE  !  ^ 

And  as  we  went  upon  our  way 
The  star  quite  still  a  while  would  stay. 
O  star,  thou  must  not  tarry  so ! 
Thou  must  with  us  to  Bethlehem  go — 
To  Bethlehem,  that  city  most  fair — 
Our  Lord  the  Christ  He  was  born  there. 
(Translated  from  the  German  by  Lady  Line 
say.) 


Bethlehem 


w 


HERE  man  was  all  too  marred  with  sin, 
The  ass,  the  ox  were  bidden  in. 


Where  angels  were  unmeet  to  come, 
The  humble  entered  Holydom. 

Their  innocent  eyes,  and  full  of  awe, 
Saw  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law. 

There,  in  the  stable  with  the  beast, 

The  Christmas  Child  hath  spread  His  feast. 

These  gave  their  bed  and  eke  their  board 
To  be  a  cradle  for  their  Lord. 

[287] 


)X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Their  honey  breath,  their  tears  all  mild, 
Warmed  in  the  cold  the  new-born  Child. 

These  His  adorers  were  before 

The  Kings  and  Shepherds  thronged  the  door. 

And  where  no  angels  knelt  there  kneeled 
The  innocent  creatures  of  the  field. 

O  simple  ones,  much  honored ; 
He  who  oppresses  you  indeed, 

Oppresses  His  kind  hosts  that  lay 
Once  in  the  stable  on  the  hay. 

Katharine  Tynan, 


A  Carol  for  Christmas  Eve 

WE  are  but  of  such  mortal  mold, 
Nos  exaudi,  Do  mine! 
That  the  night  can  scarce  withhold 
In  its  shrouds  our  sins  from  Thee. 

[288] 


^  THE  .  CHRIST  •  CHILD  ^ 

That  night  comes,  when  Thou  shalt  come 

N^os  ex  audi,  D  online! 
From  Thy  home  to  this  sad  home, 

And  die  for  us  upon  the  tree. 

If  then  the  stars  shine  out  so  bright, 

Nos  exaiidi,  Domine! 
That  Thou  seest  by  their  Hght 

How  great  our  sins  and  many  be ; 

Thou  wilt  come,  as  they  were  not, 

Nos  exaudi,  Domine! 
Or  as  they  were  all  forgot, 

Or  forgiven,  Lord,  by  Thee. 

Herbert  P.  Horne. 


A  Christmas  Carol 

THE  Christ-child  lay  on  Mary's  lap 
His  hair  was  like  a  light. 
Oh,  weary,  weary  were  the  world, 
But  here  is  all  aright.) 

[289] 


|X^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  Christ-child  lay  on  Alary's  breast, 

His  hair  was  Hke  a  star. 
(Oh,  stern  and  cunning  are  the  kings, 

But  here  the  true  hearts  are.) 

The  Christ-child  lay  on  ^Mary's  heart, 

His  hair  was  like  a  fire. 
(Oh,  weary,  weary  is  the  world, 

But  here  the  world's  desire.) 

The  Christ-child  stood  at  IMary's  knee. 

His  hair  was  like  a  crown. 
And  all  the  flowers  looked  up  at  Him, 

And  all  the  stars  looked  down. 

G.  K.  Chestertox. 


[290] 


I 


CHRISTMAS   HYMNS 


ETERNAL  Father,  who  didst  create, 
In  whom  we  live  and  to  whose  bosom  move, 
To  all  men  be  Thy  name  known,  which  is  Love, 
Till  its  loud  praises  sound  at  heaven's  high  gate. 
Perfect  Thy  kingdom  in  our  passing  state, 
That  here  on  earth  Thou  may'st  as  well  approve 
Our  service  as  Thou  ownest  theirs  above, 
Whose  joy  we  echo,  and  in  pain  await. 

Grant  body  and  soul  each  day  their  daily  bread : 
And  should  in  spite  of  grace  fresh  woe  begin, 
Even  as  our  anger  soon  is  past  and  dead 
Be  thy  remembrance  mortal  of  our  sin : 
By  Thee  in  paths  of  peace  Thy  sheep  be  led. 
And  in  the  vale  of  terror  comforted. 

Robert  Bridges. 


[291] 


1^      REDEEMER  •  WITH  •  LOVE  •  DIVINE      ^ 


Cradle  Hymn 

AWAY  in  a  manger,  no  crib  for  a  bed, 
The    little    Lord   Jesus    laid    down    His 
sweet  head. 
The  stars  in  the  bright  sky  looked  down  where 

He  lay— 
The  little  Lord  Jesus  asleep  on  the  hay. 

The  cattle  are  lowing,  the  baby  awakes, 
But  little  Lord  Jesus  no  crying  He  makes. 
I  love  Thee,  Lord  Jesus !     Look  down  from 

the  sky, 
And  stay  by  my  cradle  till  morning  is  nigh. 

Martin  Luther. 


Christmas 

ABOVE  our  heads,  from  out  the  clear,  deep 
sky, 

The  stars  look  down 
As  when  of  old  their  mellow  radiance  shone 
O'er  Bethlehem's  town. 

[293] 


^  the:  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  )X^ 

The  midnight  bells  peal  out  with  solemn  tone 

From  every  tower, 
Bidding  the  world  with  gladness  to  await 

The  promised  hour. 

O  lonely  heart !  look  up  with  faith  renewed ; 

Thy  Lord  is  here ; 
For  now  the  anthem  of  the  heavenly  host 

Breaks  on  the  ear. 


Emmanuel,  Redeemer,  once  again 

Comes  to  earth. 
To  change  its  darkness  by  the  glorious  light 

That  hails  His  birth. 


Not  now  to  Israel's  race  alone  He  comes 

With  love  divine ; 
To  all  the  King  of  Glory  shall  descend, 

God's  promised  sign. 

Lift  up  each  voice  to  greet  the  op'ning  morn 

Of  this  glad  day; 
The  angels  sing,  and  men  with  them  rejoice. 

And  gladly  say: 

[294] 


I 


1^  SON  .  OF  .  GOD  .  ALL  •  HAIL  !  ^ 

''Glory  to  God,  whose  promise  is  fulfilled! 

To  man  be  peace ! 
For  Christ  our  Lord  begins  His  holy  reign, 

To  never  cease." 

Thomas  Mair. 


While  Shepherds  Watched  Their  Flocks 
by  Night 

WHILE  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by 
night. 
All  seated  on  the  ground, 
The  angel  of  the  Lord  came  down, 

And  glory  shone  around. 
"Fear  not!''  said  he,  for  mighty  dread 

Had  seized  their  troubled  mind, 
''Glad  tidings  of  great  joy  I  bring 
To  you  and  all  mankind. 

''To  you,  in  David's  town,  this  day 

Is  born,  of  David's  line, 
The  Saviour  who  is  Christ  the  Lord, 

And  this  shall  be  the  sign : 

[295] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

The  heavenly  Babe  you  there  shall  find, 

To  human  view  displayed, 
All  meanly  wrapped  in  swaddling  bands, 

And  in  a  manger  laid/' 

Thus  spake  the  seraph ;  and  forthwith 

Appeared  a  shining  throng 
Of  angels,  praising  God,  and  thus 

Addressed  their  joyful  song: 
"All  glory  be  to  God  on  high, 

And  to  the  earth  be  peace ; 
Good-will  henceforth  from  heaven  to  men 

Begin,  and  never  cease/' 

N.  Tate. 


For  Christmas  Day 

IMMORTAL  Babe,  who  this  dear  day 
Didst  change  Thine  heaven  for  our  clay, 
And  didst  with  flesh  Thy  godhead  veil, 
Eternal  Son  of  God,  all  hail ! 

Shine,  happy  star ;  ye  angels,  sing 
Glory  on  high  to  heaven's  King : 

[296] 


^    GLORY  .  TO  .  THE  •  NEW-BORX  KING    ^ 

Run,  shepherds,  leave  your  nightly  watch ! 
See  heaven  come  down  to  Bethlehem's  cratch ! 

Worship,  ye  sages  of  the  east, 

The  King  of  gods  in  meanness  dressed ! 

O  blessed  maid,  smile  and  adore 

The  God  thy  womb  and  arms  have  bore ! 

Star,  angels,  shepherds,  and  wise  sages. 
Thou  virgin  glory  of  the  ages. 
Restored  frame  of  heaven  and  earth, 
Joy  in  your  dear  Redeemer's  birth ! 

Bishop  Hall. 


Hark!  the  Herald  Angels  Sing 

HARK!  the  herald  angels  sing, 
"Glory  to  the  new-born  King ! 
Peace  on  earth  and  mercy  mild, 
God  and  sinners  reconciled!'' 
Christ,  by  highest  heaven  adored, 
Christ,  the  everlasting  Lord, 

[297] 


)^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

Late  in  time  behold  Him  come, 
Offspring  of  a  Virgin's  womb. 
Hark !  the  herald  angels  sing, 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King ! 

Veiled  in  flesh  the  Godhead  see ; 

Hail  the  incarnate  Deity ! 

Pleased  as  man  with  men  to  appear, 

Jesus  our  Immanuel  here. 

Hail  the  heaven-born  Prince  of  Peace ! 

Hail  the  Son  of  Righteousness ! 

Light  and  life  to  all  He  brings, 

Risen  with  healing  in  His  wings. 
Hark !  the  herald  angels  sing, 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King ! 

Mild  He  lays  His  glory  by, 
Born  that  man  no  more  may  die ; 
Born  to  raise  the  sons  of  earth. 
Born  to  give  them  second  birth. 
Come,  Desire  of  nations,  come. 
Fix  in  us  Thy  humble  home ; 
Rise,  the  woman's  conquering  Seed, 
Bruise  in  us  the  serpent's  head. 
Hark !  the  herald  angels  sing, 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King ! 

[298] 


^  SALUTE  .  THE  •  HAPPY  •  MORN  |X^ 

Adam's  likeness  now  efface, 
Stamp  Thine  image  in  its  place; 
Second  Adam  from  above, 
Reinstate  its  in  Thy  love. 
Hark !  the  herald  angels  sing, 
''Glory  to  the  new-born  King! 
Peace  on  earth,  and  mercy  mild, 
God  and  sinners  reconciled!'' 

Hark !  the  herald  angels  sing, 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King ! 

Charles  Wesley. 


Christians  Awake!     Salute  the   Happy 
Morn 

CHRISTIANS,  awake !    Salute  the   happy 
morn 
Whereon  the  Savior  of  mankind  was  born ; 
Rise  to  adore  the  mystery  of  love. 
Which  hosts  of  angels  chanted  from  above ; 
With  them  the  joyful  tidings  first  begun 
Of  God  incarnate  and  the  Virgin's  Son. 

[299] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  |X( 

Then  to  the  watchful  shepherds  it  was  told. 
Who  heard  the  angelic  herald's  voice :    "Be- 
hold, 
I  bring  good  tidings  of  a  Savior's  birth 
To  you  and  all  the  nations  upon  earth ; 
This  day  hath  God  fulfilled  His  promised  word, 
This  day  is  born  a  Savior,  Christ  the  Lord." 

He  spake;  and  straightway  the  celestial  choir 
In  hymns  of  joy,  unknown  before,  conspire ; 
The  praises  of  redeeming  love  they  sang, 
And  heaven's  whole  orb  with  alleluias  rang ; 
God's  highest  glory  was  their  anthem  still: 
Peace  upon  earth  and  unto  men  good-will. 

To  Bethlehem  straight  the  enlightened  shep- 
herds ran, 
To  see  the  wonders  God  had  wrought  for  man ; 
Then  to  their  flocks,  still  praising  God,  return, 
And  their  glad  hearts  with  holy  rapture  burn ; 
Amazed,  the  wondrous  tidings  they  proclaim, 
The  first  apostles  of  His  infant  fame. 

Oh,  may  we  keep  and  ponder  in  our  mind 
God's  wondrous  love  in  saving  lost  mankind; 

[300] 


^  THE  .  DAYSTAR  •  GILDS  •  THE  •  GLOOM  ^ 

Trace  we  the  Babe,  who  hath  retrieved  our 

loss, 
From  the  poor  manger  to  the  bitter  cross ; 
Tread  in  His  steps,  assisted  by  His  grace, 
Till  man's  first  heavenly  state  again  takes  place. 

Then  may  we  hope,  the  angelic  hosts  among, 
To  join,  redeemed,  a  glad,  triumphant  throng: 
He  that  was  born  upon  this  joyful  day 
Around  us  all  His  glory  shall  display ; 
Saved  by  His  love,  incessant  we  shall  sing 
Eternal  praise  to  heaven's  almighty  King. 

Dr.  Byrom. 


The  Birth  at  Bethlehem 

WHEN  Jordan  hushed  his  waters  still, 
And  silence  slept  on  Zion's  Hill; 
When  Bethlehem's  shepherds  thro'  the  night 
Watched  o'er  their  flocks  by  starry  light : 

Hark !  from  the  midnight  hills  around, 
A  voice  of  more  than  mortal  sound 

[301] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 

In  distant  hallelujahs  stole, 

Wild  murmurings  o'er  the  raptured  soul. 

On  wheels  of  light,  on  wings  of  flame, 
The  glorious  hosts  of  Zion  came ; 
High  heaven  with  songs  of  triumph  rung, 
While  thus  they  struck  their  harps,  and  sung ; 

"O  Zion,  lift  thy  raptured  eye. 
The  long-expected  hour  is  nigh ; 
Renewed,  creation  smiles  again, 
The  Prince  of  Salem  comes  to  reign. 

'*He  comes  to  cheer  the  trembling  heart, 
Bid  Satan  and  his  host  depart ; 
Again  the  Daystar  gilds  the  gloom, 
Again  the  bowers  of  Eden  bloom." 

Thomas  Campbell. 


f 


1302] 


^      FROM  .  SIX  •  PRESERVE  •  US  •  FREE      ^ 


A   Hymn   for   Christmas   Day 

HARK,  the  glad  sound!  the  Savior  comes. 
The  Savior  promised  long; 
Let  every  heart  prepare  a  throne, 
And  every  voice  a  song! 

He  comes,  the  prisoners  to  release 

In  Satan's  bondage  held; 
The  gates  of  brass  before  Him  burst, 

The  iron  fetters  yield. 

He  comes,  the  broken  heart  to  bind, 

The  bleeding  soul  to  cure, 
And  with  the  treasures  of  His  grace 

T'  enrich  the  humble  poor. 

Our   glad  Hosannas,    Prince   of   Peace, 

Thy  welcome  shall  proclaim, 
And  heaven's  eternal  arches  ring 

With  Thy  beloved  name. 

Philip  Doddridge. 
[303] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


Christmas  Day 

SAVIOR,  whom  this  holy  morn 
Gave  to  our  world  below, 
To  mortal  want  and  labour  born, 
And  more  than  mortal  woe ; 


Incarnate  Word !  by  every  grief, 
By  each  temptation  tried, 

Who  lived  to  yield  our  ills  relief, 
And  to  redeem  us,  died ! 


If  gaily  clothed  and  proudly  fed, 
In  dangerous  wealth  we  dwell. 

Remind  us  of  thy  manger  bed 
And  lowly  cottage  cell ! 


If,  prest  by  poverty  severe. 
In  envious  want  we  pine. 
Oh,  may  the  Spirit  whisper  near 
How  poor  a  lot  was  Thine ! 

[304] 


I 


|X(  LEND  •  US  .  THIXE  •  AID  ^ 

Through  fickle  fortune's  various  scene 

From  sin  preserve  us  free ! 
Like  us  Thou  hast  a  mourner  been, — 

May  we  rejoice  with  Thee ! 

Reginald  Heber. 


Brightest  and  Best    of    the  Sons  of  the 
Morning 

BRIGHTEST  and  best  of  the  Sons  of  the 
morning, 
Dawn  on  our  darkness,  and  lend  us  Thine 
aid: 
Star  of  the  East,  the  horizon  adorning, 
Guide  where  our  infant  Redeemer  is  laid ! 

Cold  on  His  cradle  the  dewdrops  are  shining ; 

Low  lies  His  head  with  the  beasts  of  the 
stall ; 
Angels  adore  Him  in  slumber  reclining, 

Maker  and  [Monarch  and  Savior  of  all. 

[305] 


)^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  A 

Say  shall  we  yield  Him  in  costly  devotion 
Odors  of  Edom  and  offerings  divine, 

Gems  of  the  mountain,  and  pearls  of  the  ocean, 
Myrrh  from  the  forests,  or  gold  from  the 
mine  ? 

Saintly  we  offer  each  ample  oblation. 

Vainly  with  gifts  would  His  favor  secure ; 

Richer  by  far  is  the  heart's  adoration, 
Dearer  to  God  are  the  prayers  of  the  poor. 

Brightest  and  best  of  the  Sons  of  the  morning, 
Dawn  on  our  darkness,  and  lend  us  Thine 
aid: 

Star  of  the  East,  the  horizon  adorning. 
Guide  where  our  infant  Redeemer  is  laid ! 

Reginald  Heber. 


The  Star  of  Bethlehem 

WHEN  marshal'd  on  the  nightly  plain, 
The  glittering  host  bestud  the  sky ; 
One  Star  alone,  of  all  the  train, 
Can  fix  the  sinner's  wandering  eye. 

[306] 


^  SALVATION  .  COMES  •  TO-DAY  ^ 

Hark !  hark !  to  God  the  chorus  breaks, 
From  every  host,  from  every  gem ; 

But  one  alone  the  Saviour  speaks, 
It  is  the  Star  of  Bethlehem. 

Once  on  the  raging  seas  I  rode, 

The  storm  was  loud — the  night  was  dark, 
The  ocean  yawn'd — and  rudely  blow'd 

The  wind  that  toss'd  my  foundering  bark. 
Deep  horror  then  my  vitals  froze, 

Death-struck,  I  ceased  the  tide  to  stem ; 
When  suddenly  a  star  arose. 

It  was  the  star  of  Bethlehem. 

It  was  my  guide,  my  light,  my  all ; 

It  bade  my  dark  forebodings  cease, 
And  through  the  storm  and  danger's  thrall 

It  led  me  to  the  port  of  peace. 
Now,  safely  moor'd — my  perils  o'er — 

ril  sing,  first  in  night's  diadem. 
For  ever,  and  for  evermore. 

The  Star !— The  Star  of  Bethlehem ! 

H.  K.  White. 


[307] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  J^ 


Christmas   Day 

CALM  on  the  listening  ear  of  night 
Come  heaven's  melodious  strains, 
Where  wild  Judea  stretches  far 

Her  silver-mantled  plains ; 
Celestial  choirs  from  courts  above 

Shed  sacred  glories  there, 
And  angels,  with  their  sparkling  lyres, 
Make  music  on  the  air. 

The  answering  hills  of  Palestine 

Send  back  the  glad  reply. 
And  greet  from  all  their  holy  heights 

The  day-spring  from  on  high : 
O'er  the  blue  depths  of  Galilee 

There  comes  a  holier  calm, 
And  Sharon  waves  in  solemn  praise 

Her  silent  groves  of  palm. 

Glory  to  God!  the  lofty  strain 

The  realm  of  ether  fills ; 
How  sweeps  the  song  of  solemn  joy 

O'er  Judah's  sacred  hills ! 

[308] 


|X(  THE  .  EVERLASTING  •  LIGHT  ^ 

''Glory  to  God !''  the  sounding  skies 
Loud  with  their  anthems  ring: 

"Peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men, 
From  heaven's  eternal  King." 

Light  on  thy  hills,  Jerusalem! 

The  Savior  now  is  born : 
More  bright  on  Bethlehem's  joyous  plains 

Breaks  the  first  Christmas  morn; 
And  brighter  on  ]\Ioriah's  brow, 

Crowned  with  her  temple  spires. 
Which  first  proclaim  the  new-born  light. 

Clothed  with  its  orient  fires. 

This  day  shall  Christian  tongues  be  mute, 

And  Christian  hearts  be  cold? 
O  catch  the  anthem  that  from  heaven 

O'er  Judah's  mountains  rolled! 
When  nightly  burst  from  seraph  harps 

The  high  and  solemn  lay — 
''Glory  to  God,  on  earth  be  peace ; 

Salvation  comes  to-day !" 

Edmund  Hamilton  Sears. 


[309] 


^  THE  •  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


O  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem 

O   LITTLE  town  of  Bethlehem, 
How  still  we  see  thee  lie ! 
Above  thy  deep  and  dreamless  sleep 

The  silent  stars  go  by; 
Yet  in  thy  dark  streets  shineth 

The  everlasting  Light; 
The  hopes  and  fears  of  all  the  years 
Are  met  in  thee  to-night. 

For  Christ  is  born  of  Mary, 

And,  gathered  all  above, 
While  mortals  sleep,  the  angels  keep 

Their  watch  of  wondering  love. 
O  morning  stars,  together 

Proclaim  the  holy  birth ! 
And  praises  sing  to  God  the  King, 

And  peace  to  men  on  earth. 

How  silently,  how  silently. 
The  wondrous  gift  is  given ! 

So  God  imparts  to  human  hearts 
The  blessings  of  His  heaven. 

[310] 


^         IN  •  THE  .  SOLEMN  .  MIDNIGHT         ^ 

No  ear  may  hear  His  coming, 

But  in  this  world  of  sin, 
Where  meek  souls  will  receive  Him  still, 

The  dear  Christ  enters  in. 

O  holy  Child  of  Bethlehem ! 

Descend  to  us,  we  pray ; 
Cast  out  our  sin,  and  enter  in — 

Be  born  in  us  to-day. 
We  hear  the  Christmas  angels 

The  great  glad  tidings  tell ; 
Oh,  come  to  us,  abide  with  us, 

Our  Lord  Emmanuel! 

Phillips  Brooks. 


A  Christmas  Hymn 


IT  was  in  the  calm  and  silent  night! — 
Seven  hundred  years  and  fifty-three 
Had  Rome  been  growing  up  to  might. 
And  now  was  queen  of  land  and  sea ! 

[311] 


^ 


THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY 


^ 


No  sound  was  heard  of  clashing  wars, 

Peace  brooded  o'er  the  hushed  domain ; 
Apollo,  Pallas,  Jove  and  Alars, 

Held  undisturbed  their  ancient  reign, 
In  the  solemn  midnight, 
Centuries  ago! 

11. 

'Twas  in  the  calm  and  silent  night! 

The  senator  of  haughty  Rome 
Impatient  urged  his  chariot's  flight, 

From  lordly  revel  rolling  home. 
Triumphal  arches  gleaming,  swell 

His  breast  with  thoughts  of  boundless  sway ; 
What  recked  the  Roman  what  befell 

A  paltry  province  far  away. 

In  the  solemn  midnight. 
Centuries  ago! 


III. 

Within  that  province  far  away 

Went  plodding  home  a  weary  boor; 

A  streak  of  light  before  him  lay, 

FalFn  through  a  half-shut  stable  door 

[312] 


^         CHRIST  .  THE  •  LORD  •  IS  •  BORN         ^ 

Across  his  path.    He  passed — for  naught 

Told  him  what  was  going  on  within. 
How  keen  the  stars !  his  only  thought ; 
The  air,  how  calm  and  cold  and  thin, 
In  the  solemn  midnight, 
Centuries  asro ! 


IV. 

O  strange  indifference ! — low  and  high 

Drowsed  over  common  joys  and  cares : 
The  earth  was  still — but  knew  not  why ; 

The  world  was  listening — unawares  ! 
How  calm  a  moment  may  precede 

One  that  shall  thrill  the  world  for  ever ! 
To  that  still  moment  none  would  heed ; 

Man's  doom  was  linked  no  more  to  sever. 
In  the  solemn  midnight, 
Centuries  ago ! 


It  is  the  calm  and  solemn  night ! 

A  thousand  bells  ring  out,  and  throw 
Their  joyous  peals  abroad,  and  smite 

The  darkness,  charmed  and  holy  nozi'! 

[313] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  •  TREASURY  ^ 


The  night  that  erst  no  name  had  worn, 

To  it  a  happy  name  is  given ; 
For  in  that  stable  lay,  new-born, 

The  peaceful  Prince  of  Earth  and  Heaven, 
In  the  solemn  midnight, 
Centuries  ago ! 

Alfred  Domett. 


Carol,  Carol,  Tenderly 

CAROL,  carol,  tenderly  and  sweetly, 
Over  the  mountain,  over  the  wold; 
Let  the  jubilant  message  fleetly 
Now  in  castle  and  cot  be  told: 

Christ  the  Lord  is  born,  and  He 
Dons  our  poor  humanity. 

Hark!  the  tidings  of  Christmas  ringing 

East  and  west,  and  from  land  to  land ; 
While  we  villager  lads  go  singing, 
Under  the  starlight,  hand  in  hand : 
Christ  the  Lord  is  born,  and  He 
Dons  our  poor  humanity, 

[3H] 


^  PEACE  .  OX  .  EARTH  ^ 

Angels  sang  of  the  coming  glory 

Years  ago,  in  far  Bethlehem ; 
Kings  and  shepherds  retold  the  story — 
We  would  echo  it  back  to  them : 

Christ  the  Lord  is  born,  and  He 
Dons  oar  poor  humanity. 

Lady  Lindsay. 


Happy  Shepherds 

HAPPY  shepherds,  pipe  and  trill ! 
So  your  earth-tuned  melody 
Join  the  angels'  harmony, 
Far  beyond  yon  snow-bound  hill. 

{Praise  to  God  and  peace  on  earth: 
Christ  is  come  of  mortal  birth.) 

Happy  shepherds,  kneel  and  pray! 
First  to  you  the  message  given, 
First  for  you  the  song  from  heaven, 
On  that  blessed  Christmas  Day. 

[315] 


1^  THE  .  CHRISTAIAS  .  TREASURY  ^ 

(Praise  to  God  and  peace  on  earth: 
Christ  is  come  of  mortal  birth,) 

Set  in  silver^  as  a  gem, 
Gleams  among  the  stars  yon  star; 
Ride   the   wise  kings   from  afar 
Toward  the  Babe  in  Bethlehem. 

{Praise  to  God  and  peace  on  earth: 
Christ  is  come  of  mortal  birth,) 

In  a  manger's  grassy  bed 
He,  the  Lord  of  Life  and  Time, 
Lord  of  each  wide  world  and  clime, 
Meekly  chose  to  lay  His  head. 

{Praise  to  God  and  peace  on  earth: 
Christ  is  come  of  mortal  birth,) 

Lady  Lindsay. 


[316] 


^  HAPPY  .  XIGHT  ^ 


Christmas,   Prithee 

CHRISTMAS,  prithee,  be  thou  drest 
In  thy  best — 
Snowy  wimple,  snowy  gown — 

Laying  down 
Flooring  pure  and  white,  to  greet 
Jesus's  feet. 
Gloria  in  Excelsis. 

Bid  thy  frosty  handmaids  bear 

Through  the  air 
Cloth  of  silver  for  thy  veil 

Clear  and  frail. 
While  the  robins  welcome  sing 

To  thy  King. 
Gloria  in  Excelsis, 

Angels  o'er  thy  radiant  brow 

Leaning  low. 
Joyous,  carol  once  again 

Sweet  refrain, 
Seeing  our  dark  earth  so  fair : 
''Peace  be  there, 
Gloria  in  Excelsis,'' 

Lady  Lindsay. 

[317] 


|X(  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  ^ 


Hymn  for  the  Nativity 

HAPPY  night  and  happy  silence  downward 
softly  stealing, 
Softly  stealing  over  land  and  sea, 
Stars  from  golden  censors  swing  a  silent  eager 
feeling 
Down  on  Judah,  down  on  Galilee ; 
And  all  the  wistful  air,  the  earth  and  sky, 
Listened,  listened  for  the  gladness  of  a  cry. 

Holy  night,  a  sudden  flash  of  light  its  way  is 
winging : 
Angels,  angels,  all  above,  around; 
Hark,  the  angel  voices,  hark,  the  angels  voices 
singing. 
And  the  sheep  are  lying  on  the  ground. 
Lo !  all  the  wistful  air  and  earth  and  sky 
Listen,  listen  to  the  gladness  of  the  cry. 

Happy  night  at  Bethlehem;  soft  little  hands 
are  feeling. 
Feeling  in  the  manger  with  the  kine : 

[318] 


^  PEACE  .  ON  .  EARTH  ^ 

Little  hands,  and  eyelids  closed  in  sleep,  while 
angels  kneeling, 
Mary  mother,  hymn  the  Babe  Divine. 
Lo !  all  the  wistful  air  and  earth  and  sky 
Listen,  listen  to  the  gladness  of  the  cry. 


Wide,  as  if  the  light  were  music,  flashes  ador- 
ation : 
^'Glory  be  to  God,  nor  ever  cease." 
All  the  silence  thrills,  and  speeds  the  message 
of  salvation : 
'Teace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men  of  peace." 
Lo !  all  the  wistful  air  and  earth  and  sky 
Listen,  listen  to  the  gladness  of  the  cry. 


Holy  night,  thy  solemn  silence  evermore  en- 
foldeth 
Angel  songs  and  peace  from  God  on  high  : 
Holy  night,  thy  watcher  still  with  faithful  eye 
beholdeth 
Wings  that  wave,  and  angel  glory  nigh. 
Lo !  hushed  is  strife  in  air  and  earth  and  sky, 
Still  thy  watchers  hear  the    gladness    of    the 
cry, 

[319] 


^  THE  .  CHRISTMAS  .  TREASURY  |X^ 

Praise  Him,  ye  who  watch  the  night,  the  silent 

night  of  ages : 
Praise    Him,    shepherds,    praise    the    Holy 

Child; 
Praise  Him,  ye  who  hear  the  light,  O  praise 

Him  all  ye  sages ; 
Praise  Him,  children,  praise  Him,  meek  and 

mild. 
Lo !  peace  on  earth,  glory  to  God  on  high — 
Listen,  listen  to  the  gladness  of  the  cry. 

Edward  Thring. 


THE   END 


[320] 


INDEX 

All  after  pleasure  as  I  rid  one  day  (George  Herbert), 
III. 

Ancient  French  Carol  (Lady  Lindsay),  282. 

And  they  laid  Him  in  a  manger  (Sir  E.  Sher- 
burne), 206. 

Angel's  Story,  The  (A.  A.  Procter),  59. 

As  Joseph  was  a-ijualking  (Old  Carol),  238. 

At  Bethlehem  (R.  Crashaw),  219. 

At  Christmas  (A.  S.  Cripps),  179. 

At  the  Sign  of  the  Jolly  Jack  (Geoffrey  Smith),  107. 

A  Virgin  Most  Pure   (Old  Carol),  241. 

Ballade  of  Christmas  Ghosts  (A.  Lang),  89. 

Balm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night   (E.  H.   Sears), 

308. 
Barnes  (William),  Keep  Old  Christmas  Up,  55. 
Beaumont  (Sir  John),  Of  the  Epiphany,  204. 
Bennett  (William  Cox),  A  Christmas  Song,  164. 
Bethlehem  (K.  Tynan),  287. 
Birth  at  Bethlehem   (T.  Campbell),  301. 
Blind  (Mathilde),  Christmas  Eve,  170. 
Bolton  (Edmund),  The  Shepherds'  Song,  209. 
Bridges  (Robert),  Eternal  Father,  who  didst  create, 

291. 

[321] 


1^  INDEX  1^ 


Brooks     (Phillips),  Christmas    Once    Is    Christmas 
Still,  76. 

The  Voice  of  the  Christ-Child,  79. 

A   Christmas  Carol,  165. 

O  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem,  310. 

Brightest  and  Best    of    the    Sons    of    the  Morning 

(R.  Heber),  305. 
Burgundian  Noel,  A  (Lady  Lindsay),  284. 
Burning  Babe,  The  (R.  Southwell),  119. 
Byrom  (Dr.),  Christians,  Awake!    Salute  the  Happy 

Morn,  299. 

Campbell  (Thomas),  The  Birth  at  Bethlehem,  301. 
Carman  (Bliss),  Christmas  Eve  at  St.  Kavin's,  140. 
Carol,  carol,  tenderly  (Lady  Lindsay),  314. 
Carol  for  Christmas  Eve  (H.  P.  Home),  288. 
Carol  of  the  Three  Kings  (Lady  Lindsay),  285. 
Ceremonies  for  Christmas  (R.  Herrick),  29. 
Cherry-Tree  Carol,  The  (Old  Carol),  238. 
Chesterton  (Gilbert  K.),  ^  Christmas  Carol,  289. 
Child  Jesus,  The  (R.  S.  Hawker),  2y2>' 
Children's  Christmas  Eve  (J.  Keble),  52. 
Christians,  Awake!     Salute  the  Happy  Morn    (Dr. 

Byrom),  299. 
Christmas  (Lady  Lindsay),  19. 
Christmas   (George  Herbert),  113. 
Christmas  Hymn,  A  (Thomas  Mair),  293. 
Christmas  Antiphone,  A  (A.  C.  Swinburne),  134. 
Christmas  at  Sea  (R.  L.  Stevenson),  171. 
Christmas  Bells  (H.  W.  Longfellow),  68. 
Christmas  Bells  (Anon.),  S2. 


[3^2] 


^  IXDEK  ^ 


Christmas  Carmen,  A  (J.  G.  Whittier).  158. 
Christmas  Carol  (W.  Wordsworth),  38. 
Christmas  Carol   (C.   Dickens),   56. 
Christmas  Carol  (J.  G.  Holland),  y;^. 
Christmas  Carol  (J.  Ashb\'  Sterry),  88. 
Christmas  Carol,  A    (C.  Kingsley),  151. 
Christmas  Carol,  A   (Phillips  Brooks),  165. 
Christmas  Carol  (C.  G.  Rossetti),  175. 
Christmas  Carol   (R.  Herrick),  244. 
Christmas  Carol  (E.  H.  Sears),  246. 
Christmas  Carol  (G.  C.  Thomas),  248. 
Christmas  Carol  (F.  Hemans),  250. 
Christmas  Carol,  A   (A.  A.  Procter),  251. 
Christmas  Carol,  A   (H.  W.  Longfellow),  254. 
Christmas  Carol,  A   (C.  G.  Rossetti),  258,  260,  262. 
Christmas  Carol,  A   (J.  R.  Lowell),  264. 
Christmas  Carol,  (A.  C.  Swinburne),  270. 
Christmas  Carol  (G.  K.  Chesterton).  289. 
Christmas  Carol  for  Children   (Luther),  25. 
Christmas  Chime,  A   (Kathleen  Kavanagh),  loi. 
Christinas  Communion    (Katharine  Tynan),  97. 
Christmas  Day  (A.  Tennyson),  48. 
Christmas  Day  (R.  Heber).  304. 
Christmas  Day  (E.  H.  Sears),  308. 
Christmas  Day — 1868  (C.  Kingsley),  152. 
Christmas  Eve — Another  Ceremony  (R.  Herrick").  30. 
Another    Ceremony    to    the    Maids 
(R.  Herrick),  31. 
Christmas  Eve   (Mathilde  Blind),  170. 
Christmas  Eve   (K.  Tynan),  222. 
Christmas  Eve  at  St.  Kavins  (Bliss  Carman),  140. 


1^  INDEX  ^ 


Christmas  Greeting,  A  (Anon.),  io6. 
Christmas  Hymn    (A.  Domett),  311. 
Christmas  in  India   (R.  Kipling),  176. 
Christmas  Mistletoe,  The   (Barry  Cornwall),  67. 
Christmas  of  the  Sorrowful  (Lady  Lindsay),  91. 
Christmas  Once  Is  Christmas  Still  (Phillips  Brooks), 

76. 

Christmas,  prithee,  be  thou  drest    (Lady  Lindsay), 

317. 
Christmas  Song,  A   (W.  C.  Bennett),  164. 
Christ's  Nativity  (Henry  Vaughan),  115. 
Christ's  Nativity    (W.  Dunbar),    188. 
Coleridge    (Samuel   Taylor),    The  Shepherds   Went 

Their  Hasty  Way,  129. 
Collingwood  (W.  G.),  The  Pedlar,  98. 
Coming  of  Christmas,  The  (Lady  Lindsay),  96. 
Cornwall  (Barry),  The  Christmas  Mistletoe,  67. 
Cradle  Hymn  (M.  Luther),  293. 
Cradle  Song  (L  Watts),  42. 
Crashaw  (Richard),  A  Hymn  of  the  Nativity,  123. 

At  Bethlehem,  219. 

Cripps  (Arthur  Shearly),  At  Christm<is,  179. 


December  (C.  G.  Rossetti),  86. 

Delights  of  Christmas   (Anon.),  83. 

De  Vere   (Aubrey),  They  Leave  the  Land  of  Gems 

and  Gold,  72. 
Dickens  (Charles),  A  Christm<is  Carol,  56. 
Doddridge  (Philip),  A  Hymn  of  Christmas  Day,  303. 
Domett  (Alfred),  A  Christmas  Hymn,  311. 


[324] 


^  IXDEX  ^ 


Drummond  (William),  The  Shepherds,  28. 
Dunbar  (William),  Of  the  Nativity  of  Christ,  186. 

Christ's  Nativity,   188. 

End  of  the  Play,  The  (W.  M.  Thackeray),  63. 

Epiphany,  Of  the  (S.  J.  Beaumont),  204. 

Eternal  Father,  who  didst  create  (R.  Bridges),  291. 

Fairless  (Michael),  Out  of  the  Shadow  of  the  Night, 

183. 
First  Nowell,  The  (Old  Carol),  227. 
Fletcher  (Giles),  Who  Can  Forget?  120. 
For  All  Poor  Souls  (Edwin  Waugh),  149. 
For  Christmas  Day,  A  Hymn  (Bishop  Hall),  296. 

Gloria  In  Excelsis  (G.  Wither),  216. 

God  Rest  You,  Merry  Gentlemen  (Old  Carol),  231. 

Golden  Carol,  The   (Old  Carol),  240. 

Good  King  Wenceslas  (Rev.  Dr.  Neale),  256. 

Hall  (Bishop),  For  Christmas  Day,  A  Hymn,  296. 
Happy  Shepherds  (Lady  Lindsay),  315. 
Hark,  the  glad  sound!  the  Savior  comes    (P.  Dod- 
dridge), 303 
Hark!  the  Herald  Angels  Sing  (C.  Wesley),  297. 
Hawker  (Robert  Stephen),  The  Child  Jesus,  273. 
Heber   (Reginald),  Christmas  Day,  304. 

Brightest  and  Best  of  the  Sons  of  the  Morn- 
ing, 305. 

Hemans  (Felicia),  Christmas  Carol,  250. 

[325] 


^  INDEX  ^ 


Herbert    (George),  All  after  pleasure  as  I  rid  one 
day.  III. 

Christmas,  113. 

Here  and  aivay    in    good    faith  we  pace    (German 

Carol),  285. 
Herrick  (Robert),  Ceremonies  for  Christmas,  29. 

Christmas  Eve — Another  Ceremony,  30. 

Another  Ceremony  to  the  Maids,  31. 

Another  Ceremony,  31. 

Ode  on  the  Birth  of  Our  Savior,  208. 

A  Christmas  Carol,  244, 

Holland  (Josiah  Gilbert),  A  Christmas  Carol,  JZ- 
Hope  Carol,  A  (C.  G.  Rossetti),  139. 
Home  (Herbert  P.),  ^  Morning  Song  for  Christmas 
Day,  146. 

A  Carol  for  Christmas  Eve,  288. 

Hymn  for  Christmas  Day  (P.  Doddridge),  303. 
Hymn  for  the  Nativity  (E.  Thring),  318. 
Hymn  of  the  Nativity  (R.  Crashaw),  123. 

Image   (Sehvyn),  A  Meditation  for  Christmas  Day, 

144. 

In  Bethlehem,  That  Noble  Place,  26. 

In  Excelsis  Gloria  (Old  Carol),  225. 

/  Sazi>   Three  Ships   Come  Sailing  In    (Old 

Carol),  229. 

It  was  in  the  calm  and  silent  night  (A.  Domett),  311. 

John  of  Damascus,  To-Day  in  Bethlehem,  237. 
Jonson  (Ben),  The  Nativity,  185. 
Joseph    and    Mary    went    their    way    (Old  French 
Carol),  282. 

[326] 


1 


>^  INDEX  >J^ 


Kavanagh  (Kathleen),  A  Christmas  Chime,  loi. 
Keble  (John),  Children's  Christmas  Eve,  52. 
Keep  Old  Christmas  Up  (W.  Barnes),  55- 
Kingsley  (Charles)  A  Christmas  Carol,  151. 

Christmas  Day — 1868,  152. 

Kipling  (Rudyard),  Christmas  in  India,  176. 

Lang  (Andrew),  Ballade  of  Christmas  Ghosts,  89. 
Lindsay   (Lady),  Christmas,  19. 

Christmas  of  the  Sorrowful,  91. 

Ring  the  Bells,  94. 

The  Coming  of  Christmas,  96. 

•  A  Provengal  Xoel,  280. 

Ancient  French  Carol,  2S2. 

A  Burgundian  Noel,  284. 

Carol  of  the  Three  Kings,  285. 

Lindsay  (Lady),  Carol,  carol,  tenderly,  314. 

Happy  Shepherds,  315. 

Christmas,  prithee,  be  thou  drest,  317. 

Longfellow  (H.  W.),  Christmas  Bells,  68. 

A  Christmas  Carol,  254. 

Lowell   (James  Russell),  A^  Christmas  Carol,  264. 
Lullaby  for  Christmas  (J.  A.  Symonds),  74. 
Luther  (Martin)  Christmas  Card  for  Children,  25. 

Cradle  Hymn,  293. 

Mackay  (Charles),  Under  the  Holly  Bough,  70. 
Macleod  (Fiona),  St.  Bride's  Lullaby,  102. 
Mahogany  Tree,  The   (W.  M.  Thackeray),  60. 
Mair  (Thomas),  Christmas,  A  Hymn,  293. 
Masters,  in  this  hall   (W.  Morris).  266. 

[327] 


^ 


INDEX 


^ 


Meditation  for  Christmas  Day  (Selwyn  Image),  144. 

Merry  Christmas  (Anon.),  80. 

Milton  (John),  On  the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity, 

190. 
Moore  (Clement  C.)  A  Visit  from  St.  Nicholas,  21. 
Morning    Song    for    Christmas    Day     (Herbert    P. 

Home),  146. 
Morris   (William),    Outlanders,  Whence    Come    Ye 

Lastr  167. 

Masters,  in  this  hall,  266. 

Mystic's  Christmas,  The  (J.  G.  Whittier),  131. 

Nativity,  The  (Henry  Vaughan),  116. 

Nativity,   The    (Ben  Jonson),   185. 

Nativity,  The  (I.  Watts),  221. 

Neale   (Rev.  Dr.),  Good  King  Wenceslas,  256. 

'Neath  Mistletoe  (J.  Ashby  Sterry),  87. 

Ode  on  the  Birth  of  Our  Savior  (R.  Herrick),  208. 

Of  the  Nativity  of  Christ  (W.  Dunbar),  186. 

Old  Christmas  (G.  Wither),  34. 

Old  Christmas-Tide  (Sir  W.  Scott),  44. 

O  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem  (P.  Brooks),  310. 

On   the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity    (J.   Milton), 

190. 
Ontlanders,  Whence  Come  Ye  Last?   (W.  Morris), 

167. 
Out  of  the  Shadow  of  the  Night  (M.  Fairless),  183. 


Pedlar,  The  (W.  G.  Collingwood),  98. 

Pestel  (Thomas),  Psalm  for  Christmas  Day,  218. 

[328] 


>^  INDEX  ^ 


Procter  (Adelaide  A.),  The  Angel's  Story,  59. 

A  Christmas  Carol,  251. 

Provenqal  Noel,  A    (Lady  Lindsay),  280. 
Psalm  for  Christmas  Day  (T.  Pestel),  218. 

Ring  the  Bells  (Lady  Lindsay),  94. 
Robinson  (A.  Mary  F.),  The  Three  Kings,  275. 
Rocking  Hymn  (G.  Wither),  2)^. 
Rossetti  (Christina  G.),  December,  86. 

A  Hope  Carol,  139. 

Christmas  Carol,  175. 

A  Christmas  Carol,  258,  260,  262. 

St.  Bride's  Lullaby   (Fiona  Macleod),   102. 

Santa  Claus   (Anon.),  104. 

Savior,  whom  this  holy  morn  (R.  Heber),  304. 

Schaaf  (Philip),  To-day  in  Bethlehem,  22,7. 

Scott  (Sir  Walter),  Old  Christmas-Tide,  44. 

Sears  (Edmund  Hamilton),  A  Christmas  Carol,  246. 

Christmas  Day,  308. 

Smith  (Geoffrey),  At  the  Sign  of  the  Jolly  Jack,  107. 

Southwell  (Robert),  The  Burning  Babe,  119. 

Shepherds,  The  (W.  Drummond),  28. 

Shepherds,  The   (H.  Vaughan),  212. 

Shepherds'  Song,   The   (E.  Bolton),  209. 

Shepherds  Went  Their  Hasty  Way  (S.  T.  Cole- 
ridge), 129. 

Sherburne  (Sir  Edward),  And  they  laid  Him  in  a 
manger,   206. 

Star  of  Bethlehem  (J.  G.  Whittier),  160. 

[  329  ] 


>^ 


INDEX 


^ 


Star  of  Bethlehem  (H.  K.  White),  306. 
Sterry  (J.  Ashby),  'Neath  Mistletoe,  87. 

A   Christmas  Carol,  88. 

Stevenson  (Robert  Louis),  Christinas  at  Sea,  171. 

Symonds  (John  Addington),  A  Lullaby  for  Christ- 
mas, 74. 

Swinburne  (Algernon  Charles),  A  Christmas  Anti- 
phone,  134. 

A  Christmas  Carol,  270. 

Tate  (N.),  While  Shepherds  Watched  Their  Flocks 

by  Night,  295. 
Tennyson  (Alfred,  Lord),  Christmas  Day  ('Tn  Me- 

moriam"),  48. 
Thackeray  (W.  M.),  The  Mahogany  Tree,  60. 

The  End  of  the  Play,  63. 

They    Leave    the    Land    of    Gems    and    Gold    (A. 

De  Vere),  72. 
This  Endris  Night  (Old  Carol),  234. 
Thomas  (Geo.  Channing),  Christmas  Carol,  248. 
Thou  that  seekest  thy  delight  (Provengal  Noel),  280. 
Three  Kings,  The  (A.  M.  F.  Robinson),  275. 
Thring  (Edward),  Hymn  for  the  Nativity,  318. 
To-day  in  Bethlehem  (John  of  Damascus),  237. 
True  Christmas,  The  (H.  Vaughan),  215. 
Tynan   (Katharine),  Christmas  Co7nmunion,  97. 
•  Christmas  Eve,  222. 

Bethlehem,  287. 


Under  the  Holly  Bough  (Charles  Mackay),  70. 
[  330  ] 


^  INDEX  |5 


Vaughan   (Henry),  Christ's  Nativity,  115. 

The  Nativity,  116. 

The  Shepherds,  212. 

The  True  Christmas,  215. 

Visit  from  St.  Nicholas  (C.  C  Moore),  21. 
FoiV^  of  the  Christ-Child  (Phillips  Brooks),  79. 

Watts  (Isaac),  The  Nativity,  221. 

Waugh  (Edwin),  For  All  Poor  Souls,  149. 

We  Saw  the  Light  Shine  Out  Afar  (Old  Carol), 
240. 

Wesley  (Charles),  Hark!  the  Herald  Angels  Sing, 
297. 

When  Jordan  hushed  his  waters  still  (T.  Camp- 
bell), 301. 

While  Shepherds  Watched  Their  Flocks  by  Night 
(N.  Tate),  295. 

White  (H.  Kirke),  The  Star  of  Bethlehem,  306. 

Whittier  (John  Greenleaf),  The  Mystic's  Christmas, 
131. 

•  A  Christinas  Carmen,  158. 

The  Star  of  Bethlehem,  160. 

Who  Can  Forget f  (Giles  Fletcher),  120. 

Willie,  take  thy  tamborin  (Burgundian  Noel),  284. 
Wither  (George),  A  Rocking  Hymn,  32. 

Old  Christmas,  34. 

Gloria  In  Excclsis,  216. 

Wordsworth  (William),  The  Christmas  Carol,  38. 


[331] 


i  . 


f.\  i^l'lp" 


